SALT LAKE CITY — The University of Utah is investigating a complaint that a convicted felon working at a fertility clinic replaced a customer’s sperm with his own, fathering a girl 21 years ago.
The mother of the girl, Pamela Branum, tells Utah news outlets that they discovered a genetic mismatch in their daughter, and were able to trace her lineage to the now-dead fertility clinic worker with help from the convict’s relatives.
Branum told CBS affiliate KUTV in Salt Lake City that she came forward because she believes Thomas Ray Lippert made victims of other couples who went to the clinic, which was operated by faculty members.
The University of Utah says there is “credible” evidence of semen tampering or mislabeling. On Friday, the university announced it was opening a hotline and offering paternity testing to anyone who used the clinic between 1988 and 1993.
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