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'It was like he wanted to own us': Former St. Louis County social worker sentenced for sexual abuse of client

Duluth News-Tribune - 7/14/2020

Jul. 14--Michael Clarence Bryant entered the social work profession with a mindset of "really wanting to help people and realize goals families had for themselves," he told a judge Monday.

But Bryant, a former member of the St. Louis County Public Health and Human Services Department, "destroyed" that opportunity when he repeatedly sexually assaulted a client to whom he had been assigned.

"I lost my way," the 47-year-old from Wrenshall admitted at his sentencing hearing. "In my core values, I never thought I'd do this. I crossed boundaries that aren't indicative of who I am as a person."

Hours after appearing via video for the remote proceedings in State District Court in Duluth, Bryant surrendered to the Northeast Regional Corrections Center to begin serving a one-year term of incarceration.

Judge Theresa Neo ordered Bryant to serve 365 days in custody as one condition of a seven-year probationary sentence after Bryant pleaded guilty to a felony charge of third-degree criminal sexual conduct in May. Under the terms of a plea agreement, a 57-month prison term was stayed for a number of conditions, which include sex-offender treatment.

Authorities said Bryant, a St. Louis County social worker from 2001 to 2019, coerced sex from the vulnerable adult, both on and off the job, and threatened to "take her children away" and "ruin the victim's life" if she told anyone.

Bryant previously acknowledged that he was responsible for providing psychotherapy services to the woman and that it is a felony to engage in sexual penetration with a patient. The conduct reportedly spanned from approximately March 2017 to February 2019.

In a letter to the court, the victim described a life of "torture" perpetrated by Bryant. She said she initially believed they were engaged in a consensual relationship, but has since come to realize she was "manipulated" by the defendant.

The woman told the court that Bryant would dictate the clothes she was to wear. She said he put her on a strict diet, ordering her to fast for days at a time. The social worker even wanted to change her and her daughter's names, the victim said.

"It was like he wanted to own us," she said in a letter read aloud at Monday's hearing. "He was changing everything about us. He was making me into a new person, because who I was wasn't good enough for him."

The abuse was first reported to authorities in February 2019. A therapist observed behavior she deemed as "'odd" from Bryant toward the victim, including comments about "how she would wear her hair, nails and makeup," according to court documents.

Authorities said Bryant had been assigned to the client in early 2017, with the abuse beginning early in their relationship and continuing even after he was removed from her case amid "concerns by other mental health professionals" that he'd crossed boundaries and was behaving inappropriately toward the victim.

The woman told investigators that early touching led to intercourse more than an estimated 50 times, and Bryant would stay at her home for up to three hours during the day. She reported that she took the morning-after pill and believed she was in a consensual relationship that "became forceful."

On at least once occasion, Bryant was reported to have pushed the victim down, held her on the floor and sexually assaulted her.

The victim told the judge she "could do no right" in Bryant's mind, constantly drawing his criticism. She said he had three rules: She was to protect him at all times, never put them in a position where they'd be caught and never tell anyone about their relationship.

The client said she felt "scared and powerless," adding that she still hears his "words of meticulousness" and sees his "cold, unfeeling darkness."

"He's been so possessive, so controlling, that I'm constantly looking over my shoulder to see if he's there," the victim wrote in her letter.

The sentence is a departure from guidelines, which generally call for a prison term for a first-time offender.

Dawn O'Rourke, an assistant Hennepin County attorney serving as a special prosecutor, said she views Bryant as particularly amenable to probation. She added that the agreement spares the victim from having to testify at trial and has the benefit of placing Bryant on supervision for a longer period than he would receive with a prison term.

Defense attorney John Leunig also described the agreement as "significant punishment," and Judge Neo said the departure "does not minimize the seriousness of the offense."

Before receiving the sentence, Bryant apologized to the victim, his own family, the judicial system and the African American community.

"There aren't many of us here in the Twin Ports community that get to the level of a master's degree and get to really do good for the community," Bryant said, "and I threw that all away because of my own selfishness and self-centeredness. There is no excuse for that."

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