Ex-school official gets prison for kidnapping, raping woman
A former El Paso Independent School District administrator was sentenced to three decades in prison for kidnapping a woman in El Paso, taking her to his to home in Anthony, New Mexico, handcuffing her and sexually assaulting her.
Jeffrey Steven Clay, 51, was sentenced April 4 to 30 years in prison on one count of kidnapping and 10 years on another count of transportation for illegal sexual activity, federal court records shows. The sentences, which will be served concurrently, were handed down by U.S. District Court Judge Kenneth J. Gonzales in Las Cruces federal court.
He also was sentenced to 10 years of supervised release after he serves his prison term. He was facing up to life in prison.
He was found guilty May 5, 2023, by a jury of kidnapping and transportation for illegal sexual activity charges.
New Mexico federal court records show Clay also was sentenced to five years in prison on one count of contempt of court. He was charged with contempt for violating a court order prohibiting him from talking to a witness in his trial, federal court records state.
Clay was an executive director of Analytics, Strategy, and Assessment and Public Education Information Management Systems for the EPISD when he was arrested Nov. 10, 2022. He previously served as a teacher and school principal at the district. He worked for the district since 2005, court documents state.
In a complaint affidavit filed in federal court, an FBI agent wrote: “I believe Jeffrey Steven Clay is the kind of individual who wields a position of power, thus making it very difficult for any victim of abuse to come forward with allegations against him. Based on my investigation, I believe he targets vulnerable victims in an effort to ensure he cannot
be held accountable for him criminal conduct.”
The EPISD board of trustees unanimously voted Nov. 15, 2022 — less than a week after his arrest — to fire Clay.
Victim kidnapped from El Paso bus stop, sexually assaulted
The victim, a woman who is only identified in court records as Jane Doe, was at an El Paso bar Aug. 4, 2021 when she got into an argument with her significant other and left, a federal complaint affidavit states.
She was waiting for a ride to her friend’s house at a bus stop near Copia Street when Clay drove up, U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico officials said. He offered to give her a ride to her friend’s house in El Paso.
The victim got into Clay’s car and placed $10 on the dashboard to pay for gas, officials said. However, Clay took her to his house in Anthony, New Mexico instead of her friend’s house.
“Clay never asked Jane Doe if she wanted to go to his residence, and Jane Doe never agreed to go anywhere with Clay besides her friend’s house in El Paso,” the affidavit states.
Once at his house, he tried to kiss the victim but she rebuffed his kiss, the affidavit states. Clay slapped the victim in the face, put her in handcuffs and took her to his bedroom. The victims repeatedly asked Clay to stop and to remove the handcuffs. Clay refused and tightened the handcuffs.
He got of top of the victim and punched her in the face. He then “violently raped her” and told her that she deserved it, officials said.
The victim cried throughout the assault and tried to fight to get Clay off of her, the affidavit states. The victim, after the sexual assault, asked Clay if he was going to kill her.
Clay drove the victim back to El Paso. As they drove, Clay told the victim “you do know that I’m a cop?,” the affidavit states. He claimed he could have her charged for assaulting a police officer.
When they stopped at a red light, the victim “saw an opportunity to escape, so Jane Doe jumped out of Clay’s vehicle and ran to a nearby convenience store where Jane Doe and the store clerk called 911,” the affidavit states.
The victim was “sobbing and distraught” as she talked to a 911 emergency dispatcher, the affidavit states. She told the dispatcher that she had been kidnapped and raped.
El Paso Police Department officers arrived at the store and saw “marks on Jane Doe’s wrists consistent with being handcuffed and redness around her eye consistent with being punched,” the affidavit states.
Clay was arrested Nov. 10, 2022 in connection with the sexual assault.
History of sexual abuse
During his May 5, 2023, trial, another woman testified Clay raped her numerous times when she was minor and when she was an adult, including while she was seven months pregnant, officials said.
The woman initially reported the rapes when she was a minor, but recanted after Clay threatened her, officials said. The sexual assaults happened between 2012 to 2014 when the the teen was 14 to 16 years old, the affidavit states. He allegedly raped the woman as an adult in 2021.
He was arrested in 2005 on suspicion of solicitation of a prostitute, the affidavit states. However, those charges were dismissed. Court records do not state why the charges were dismissed.
At the time of Clay’s November 2022 arrest, FBI officials were seeking other potential victims of Clay. Anyone who may have been a victim of Clay is asked to contact the FBI at 1-800-2255324 or online at tips.fbi.gov.