A judge reduced a charge against a former Pepperdine professor who in 2011 was accused of kidnapping and assaulting a former girlfriend, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office.
Andrei Duta, a former business professor at the Malibu school who now lives in Texas, had a felony charge of “inflicting corporal injury on spouse/cohabitant” reduced to a misdemeanor in a motion handed down on Feb. 14, according to district attorney spokesman Ricardo Santiago. Probation was also terminated but Duta must stay away from his ex-girlfriend for 10 years.
Duta was arrested in June 2011 on suspicion of domestic violence after his girlfriend of the time reported a violent altercation between the couple at her Santa Monica apartment. The alleged victim was also a Pepperdine employee.
Duta said he was glad to close this chapter of his life.
“I’m grateful to have my good name cleared, once and for all, and to be able to move forward in life, continuing my work in the non-profit and business sectors,” he said in a press release.