Former Pepperdine Professor Faces Kidnapping, Assault Charges

Andrei Duta, a former Pepperdine University professor and philanthropist for orphanages in his native Romania, appeared at a Los Angeles Superior Court this week for a preliminary hearing in the kidnapping and assault case against him.

Duta has pleaded not guilty to charges of kidnapping and assault with a deadly weapon that stem from an incident that allegedly took place on June 24 in Santa Monica. The alleged victim was also a Pepperdine employee.

Sonya Singh wrote in this week's issue of the Pepperdine Graphic student newspaper that Santa Monica Police Detective Duane Hicks testified at the Airport Courthouse preliminary hearing that the incident was a verbal argument that took a violent turn.

According to Hicks, Duta was playing chess on a laptop computer and did not acknowledge the victim when she returned. Allegedly, she then threw the laptop on the ground and asserted that the two needed to talk. The altercation became physical when Duta, in turn, jumped up, grabbed the woman by her hair and dragged her through the apartment toward the bathroom, threatening her and attempting to stifle her screams along the way.

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