Eastern Michigan University suspended the director of the EMU Coatings Research Institute on Oct. 15, following his appearance on an online investigative program on the streaming service TruBlu.
TruBlu focuses on criminal investigations, including a show called “Takedown with Chris Hansen.” Hansen is a former correspondent for Dateline ABC, who previously served as the host of the program “To Catch a Predator.”
In an episode uploaded to TruBlu on Oct. 10, Professor Vijay Mannari visited a home in Huron Township, Michigan, where Hansen and the Genesee Human Oppression Strike Team had set up a sting operation.
The strike team is a multi-county law enforcement task force based in Genesee County. The task force was created in 2019 by Genesee County Sheriff Christopher Swanson. On its website, the task force stated that it has arrested more than 150 individuals on charges ranging from human trafficking to criminal sexual conduct.
Genesee County and GHOST Officers did not respond to requests for comment regarding the TruBlu episode in Huron Township. On Saturday, Oct. 19, Mark Hindelang, a Wayne County prosecutor, said that the incident is under review in the county prosecutor’s office.
In the TruBlu video, Hansen is seen talking to a task force officer about a series of cell phone texts involving a 15-year-old girl, who was actually a law enforcement agent. Hansen and the officer talking in the TruBlu video accused Mannari of sending sexually explicit texts to that 15-year-old before he arrived at the house.
The published video shows that officers prevented Mannari from leaving the home and placed him in handcuffs. Then Mannari sat down and talked to Hansen.
In EMU’s statement, posted on the university’s website, Vice President for Communications Walter Kraft said, “The actions the individual is accused of are detestable and abhorrent, and stand against everything the university stands for.”
In addition to being suspended, the university statement said Mannari was “barred from campus, denied access to university email, and prohibited from any further contact with the university or students.”
University officials said they are not aware of any allegations with Mannari involving students or staff.
In the statement, university officials also said, “We take these matters very seriously, as the safety and well-being of our campus community is our top priority.”
Mannari has taught at Eastern since 2003 and became a full professor in 2012. In addition to being the director of the coatings institute, he had been serving as interim director of the School of Engineering.
