A former University of Maine student and member of its baseball team has been charged with raping six women over a five-year period in Delaware.
Clay D. Conaway
Clay Conaway, 22, of Georgetown, Delaware, was first arrested in August on one count of first-degree rape of a 20-year-old woman.
Since then, five additional women have come forward to say they, too, were raped by Conaway, including one who said he assaulted her while they were in high school.
Conaway was indicted in late September on additional charges, according to a news release from the Delaware State Police.
Margaret Nagle, spokeswoman for the University of Maine, said the school is not aware of any reports from a student naming Conaway as a suspect in any sexual assault. She said she could not immediately obtain information about whether there were any unsolved rape cases at UMaine during that time.
Nagle did say, though, that if anyone is aware of additional victims, the university should be notified so that it can offer support services.
Conaway’s case in Delaware remains open, and police there said anyone who has information about any additional criminal incidents involving him should contact their major crimes unit at 302-752-3856. Information also can be provided by calling Delaware Crime Stoppers at 1-800-TIP-3333 or online at http://delaware.crimestoppersweb.com.
Conaway was enrolled at UMaine from 2014 through the spring of 2016. He was a pitcher on the Black Bears baseball team but appeared in just eight games in 2015 and none in 2016.
Coach Nick Derba, who was an associate head coach when Conaway was at UMaine, said in a written statement that he was not aware of any reports of misconduct against Conaway during his time in the program.
Steve Trimper, who was UMaine’s head coach at the time and now coaches at Stetson University in Florida, did not respond to a request for comment.
Conaway transferred to the University of Delaware for the fall of 2016 and also was a member of that school’s baseball program.
According to the News Journal in Delaware, Conaway was expelled from the University of Delaware this month after an investigation of a claim that he raped a woman in her off-campus apartment last November. That allegation was separate from the incident that led to the first criminal charges.
Conaway was released from jail Oct. 1 after his family posted $310,000 bond, according to the News Journal. He is not allowed to have contact with any alleged victims.
Conaway’s attorney, Joe Hurley, questioned the additional allegations.
“Why didn’t these people come forward before?” Hurley said to the Delaware newspaper. “It is a daunting atmosphere right now because people jump to conclusions.”
Hurley is a prominent attorney in Delaware. He was disciplined in March by the Delaware Supreme Court for making sexually explicit remarks to state prosecutors and for disparaging a former client who had lodged a complaint against him, according to the News Journal.
Eric Russell can be contacted at 791-6344 or at:
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