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Oklahoma gubernatorial candidate charged with raping, kidnapping woman

Paul Tay, 58, was arrested after police alleged that he locked a woman in his car, hit her with a pipe and sexually assaulted her at his house.
Then-mayoral candidate Paul Tay talks about his outburst at a debate in Tulsa, Okla., on June 2, 2016.
Paul Tay, then a candidate for mayor, talks about his outburst at a debate in Tulsa, Okla., on June 2, 2016.Matt Barnard / Tulsa World via AP file

A candidate for governor of Oklahoma was arrested Monday after authorities alleged that he locked a woman in his car, hit her with a pipe and sexually assaulted her at his home.

The man, Paul Tay, 58, was charged with first-degree rape, kidnapping and assault with a dangerous weapon, Tulsa police said.

Efforts to reach Tay were unsuccessful Wednesday. It was unclear whether he had an attorney.

Tay, a perennial independent political candidate in Tulsa, is running for governor of Oklahoma in next year's election. Police said Sunday that a woman responded to a Craigslist ad for a job interview on Tay's campaign team.

Because she didn't have a car, police said, Tay offered the woman a ride and picked her up in Bethany, about 11 miles northwest of Oklahoma City. Authorities said that when she realized Tay was heading to Tulsa instead of the capital, she tried to get out of the car but that Tay wouldn't let her.

"Paul grabbed a pipe and hit her on her pelvis area as she was attempting to get out," police said the woman told them, according to the arrest report.

The woman told authorities that Tay kept her locked in his car while he stopped for gas near Beggs and panhandled for gas money. Tay is alleged to have then taken her to his house in Tulsa, sexually assaulted her and raped her with a pipe, according to the arrest report.

The woman persuaded Tay on Monday to take her to a Walmart to buy hygiene products, police said.

"Once at the store, the victim was able to get away and get help from a store employee," police said. "Officers arrived and arrested Tay in the parking lot."

Tay was being held at the Tulsa County Jail on total bond of $85,000, according to jail records. He is expected to appear in court Monday.