Courts and Police

Corey Clark fails to appear in Yuma court
BY JEFFREY GAUTREAUX, SUN STAFF WRITER
Published on: September 12, 2006

A former American Idol contestant who was arrested in July in Yuma failed to appear in court Tuesday afternoon and a warrant will likely be issued for his arrest.

Corey Delaney Clark, 26, a finalist on the second season of American Idol, had been issued a summons by the Yuma County Attorney’s Office to appear in Yuma Justice Court at 1 p.m. Tuesday to face misdemeanor charges that had been filed against him.

Justice of the Peace Pro Tem Yolanda Torok said prosecutors had filed charges of interfering with a judicial proceeding per domestic violence and harassment per domestic violence. "This will be sent back to the county attorney’s office for a warrant to be issued for his appearance," Torok said during the brief hearing.

Clark was arrested by Yuma County Sheriff’s deputies July 24 on suspicion of violating a court order and trespassing at his father-in-law’s residence in the 5200 block of South Laguna Dam Road. He was booked into Yuma County jail and spent roughly 24 hours there.

The Yuma County Attorney’s Office did not file a complaint against Clark within the time limit in July, so he was released. However, the misdemeanor charges were filed soon after and Clark was issued a summons.

Clark’s wife, 27-year-old Monica Rodriguez Gonzalez, denied that her husband is the same person who appeared on American Idol three years ago when speaking to The Sun in July. However, she has not denied the fact when speaking with other Yuma media.

Clark has the same name, physical appearance and date of birth as the contestant who was a disqualified finalist in the show’s second season. He was kicked off the show after it was revealed that he faced charges of assaulting his teenage sister and resisting arrest in October 2002. He pleaded no contest to obstructing the legal process in a plea agreement and was sentenced to six months of unsupervised probation and ordered to pay legal fees.

It was during his time on the show that Clark claimed to have had sexual intercourse with Idol judge Paula Abdul in the guest room of her house, that she paid some of his expenses and promised to fund his career to the tune of $2 million, and that she made him vow to keep their relationship a secret.

An official investigation in August of 2005 by Fox Broadcasting Company concluded that they found no evidence to support Clark’s claim and that Abdul could continue her judging duties on future seasons of Idol.



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