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Purdue professor accused of dealing meth, propositioning women

LAFAYETTE, Ind. — A professor at Purdue University is accused of dealing methamphetamine and propositioning women for sexual favors, authorities said.

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Sergey Macheret, 65, of Lafayette, was arrested Wednesday and charged with suspicion of dealing methamphetamine, possession of methamphetamine and making an unlawful proposition, the Journal & Courier of Lafayette reported, citing police and jail records.

Macheret is listed on the university’s website as a professor of aeronautics and astronautics. He has been at the school since 2014.

University officials said in a statement that Macheret has been placed on leave pending further updates and is barred from campus.

“Purdue is aware of the arrest and charges,” university spokesperson Tim Doty said in a statement.

Lafayette police said an investigation began in December after authorities several tips regarding incidents of a suspicious man approaching women, WXIN-TV reported. Police said these incidents were reported several times over the last two months.

Investigators eventually identified Macheret as a suspect and reportedly used a plainclothes officer to obtain information on Wednesday that led to his arrest after a traffic stop in Lafayette, WTHR-TV reported.

Macheret posted bail on Wednesday night, according to Tippecanoe County Jail records.

In an emailed statement to the Journal & Courier on Friday, Macheret denied the accusations.

“At this point, it is too late: the police/your story has spread all over the world,” Macheret told the newspaper. “At this point, I can only say that we will strongly contest the accusations.”

Macheret holds a master’s degree from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, which he earned in 1980. He earned his doctorate five years later from the Kurchatov Institute of Atomic Energy in Moscow, according to his university profile.

Macheret was the recipient of the 2022 AIAA Plasmadynamics and Lasers Award for “pioneering work on novel plasma generation and control methods and on aerospace applications of plasmas.”