OKEECHOBEE — Clive Wilson, an adjunct professor of liberal arts at Indian River State College, entered a plea of “no contest” on Dec. 13 to a charge of battery filed in connection with an allegation he touched a female student inappropriately.
Wilson was arrested in St. Lucie County on July 12, 2018 after a female student told deputies the professor touched her buttocks and told her he would give her permission to turn a paper in late if she would let him spank her. The incident occurred in April 2018 after a class at the college.
Clive Wilson holds a doctorate in education and two master’s degrees — one in religious education and one in theology. He has a bachelor’s degree in church education and is currently a Ph.D. candidate in psychology. He is the author of several books and began teaching at Indian River State College in 2014.
In May 2018, Okeechobee County Sheriff’s Deputy Dan Franklin responded to a call in Oak Park, initially reported as a sexual battery. When he arrived, the complainant told him she was assaulted on April 9, 2018, during evening hours on the Dixon Hendry campus. She explained she was taking a human development class, and Wilson was her professor. She approached him about an overdue paper, because she said she was confused about the due date and had missed it. She said she asked him, “How would this paper affect my grade? Can I turn it in late? Will I fail the class if I can’t do it?” She said she told him she was doing well in the class and did not want this mistake to hurt her grade. It was at this point, she said, Wilson put his arm around her waist and began sliding his hand down her buttocks. She said he replied, “I’ll let you turn it in if you let me spank you. Can I spank you”? She said she pulled away and told him no. She said when he realized she was serious, he started checking her grades and told her she could turn her paper in late. She said she felt violated and had not said or done anything to make him disrespect her.
The girl’s father said his wife went to IRSC on April 17 to file a complaint and on April 18, they went to the main campus to speak with IRSC student affairs and the IRSC director of internal affairs/investigations in reference to this incident.
On May 9, Deputy Franklin made contact with Mellisa Whigham, IRSC’s dean of human resources. He told her he needed contact information for Wilson, but because Wilson is an adjunct professor, they only had an email address for him. Deputy Franklin emailed Wilson but six days later had no response from the man. He called Ms. Whigham again to enlist her aid in contacting Wilson, and she told him to forward her the email he had sent Wilson.
On May 18, he was able to obtain Wilson’s phone number from a student, but his calls went straight to voicemail and his calls were not returned. On May 20, he sent the case to the assistant state attorney’s office and asked for an arrest warrant.
Finally, on May 29, Wilson called the OCSO and apologized for not getting back to Deputy Franklin sooner and they scheduled a meeting for June 1. However, Wilson canceled that meeting and rescheduled for June 7.
When they finally met, Detective Javier Gonzalez conducted the interview, and Wilson denied any wrongdoing, saying the woman came on to him, and he told her she needed a spanking for not doing her papers and said he asked her if she wanted him to spank her. He also said he knew she was adopted and knew from her behavior in class that she was seeking the attention of an authority. He said she often told him he was looking good and other similar things. Wilson said he did not know if she passed his class, because IRSC would not allow her to return to his class, and she did the finals outside of the class.
On Friday, Dec. 13, 2019, he entered a plea of no contest to the charge of battery, and Judge Bill Wallace sentenced him to 60 days in jail and 12 months of probation.
Ms. Whigham could not be reached for comment.