'Clark Rockefeller' pleads not guilty to kidnapping

BOSTON, Massachusetts (AP) -- A German who calls himself Clark Rockefeller pleaded not guilty Monday to kidnapping charges for the alleged snatching of his 7-year-old daughter from a Boston street during a supervised visit in July.

Investigators say Rockefeller is really Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter and has been living under aliases since coming to the United States in 1978.

Gerhartsreiter was arraigned on charges of parental kidnapping, assault and battery, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon -- a motor vehicle -- and giving a false name to police

He was arrested last month in Baltimore, where authorities said he fled with his daughter, hoping to start a new life after losing custody to his ex-wife. The girl was unharmed.

Authorities have since identified Gerhartsreiter as a "person of interest" in the 1985 disappearance of a California couple.

He was indicted by a Suffolk County grand jury Friday on charges of parental kidnapping, assault and battery, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and giving a false name to police.

The indictment moves the case from Boston Municipal Court to Suffolk Superior Court. Gerhartsreiter is to be arraigned on the charges Monday.

Prosecutors allege in the assault charges that a male social worker monitoring a father-daughter visit was shoved by Gerhartsreiter and suffered minor injuries when he tried to grab the moving getaway car. The dangerous-weapon count is the most serious, with a maximum prison term of 10 years.

Defense attorney Stephen Hrones said the indictments "reflect the same weaknesses as the original charges." Hrones said he will enter pleas of not guilty on Monday, and likely will seek bail for his client.

He denied the assault charges, saying Gerhartsreiter wasn't driving and his driver wasn't attempting to hurt anyone. Hrones also said that there is no evidence of a marriage certificate between his client and the girl's mother, so he can't be criminally prosecuted for violating their custody agreement.

Hrones said the charge of giving a false name is "groundless" since his client was not attempting to mislead police when he gave the name he had been using for several years.

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