Professor arrested, awaiting court date
Facing a third-degree felony charge for unlawful sexual conduct with a 16 -or 17-year-old, Dicky Ng, 39, is scheduled to make his initial appearance in court next month, according to a 1st District Court judicial assistant.
Ng, assistant professor of math education in USU’s College of Education, will appear before Judge Kevin Allen in courtroom six on Feb. 6 at 9 a.m.
“We’ve put him on administrative leave until we’re able to look into the circumstances regarding the charges,” said Tim Vitale, interim executive director of USU Public Relations and Marketing. “He’s been removed from any responsibility for instruction, so he will not be meeting with any students, and beyond that it’s in the courts. It’s a court matter now and we’ll just wait to see how that process gets resolved.”
Chief Kim Hawkes of the North Park Police said in lieu of arrest and incarceration, Ng was cited and summoned to report to Cache County Sheriff’s office for booking — to have his fingerprints and picture taken.
Hawkes said an officer on routine patrol Dec. 10 discovered a vehicle with foggy windows parked on the side of the road near the mouth of Green Canyon at approximately 2:30 a.m.
The officer reportedly approached the vehicle and made contact with the individuals inside it — one of whom was Ng, Hawkes said. The officer soon determined from a driver license that the vehicle’s driver was 17 years old, at which point a detective was called to investigate.
After the detective and officer finished questioning the occupants of the vehicle, both of whom Hawkes said were “very cooperative,” the boy was released to his parents.
Vitale said the university became aware of the charges on Jan. 10 and immediately placed Ng on paid administrative leave. University administrators will watch Ng’s case in court and respond accordingly, Vitale said.
– dan.whitney.smtih@aggiemail.usu.edu