Ex-music professor at University of Michigan expected to plead guilty to sex charges

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) - A former University of Michigan violin professor is expected to plead guilty to charges that he transported a female minor across state lines for sex, according to federal court records.

Mlive.com reports that Stephen Shipps is scheduled to plead guilty to two felony counts of "coercion of enticement of a minor female" next month, according to an Oct. 12 court filing.

Shipps, who came to the university as a violin instructor in 1989, was indicted in 2020 and on charges that he allegedly transported a girl under the age of 18 across state lines a number of times between February and July of 2002 with the intention of having sex with her. According to the indictment, the girl was born in 1985.

The indictment and arrest in Ann Arbor came two years after Shipps, now in his late 60s, was placed on paid leave by the university after former students came forward with allegations of sexual misconduct while he taught them in the 1970s and 1980s in Nebraska and North Carolina. He retired the next year.

Mlive.com reported that neither Shipps’ attorney nor a university spokesperson responded to requests for comment.

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