FAIRBANKS — A not guilty plea was entered in the case of a man accused of repeatedly raping a woman and holding her captive for five weeks in a cabin in Alaska.
Daniel Selovich, 37, of Manley Springs was arraigned Tuesday in Fairbanks Superior Court, where his public defender entered the plea on his behalf, the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reported.
The attorney, Jonathan Biderman, also requested a jury trial for Selovich on charges of kidnapping, sexual assault and assault.
The woman told authorities Selovich met her at the airport with a U-Haul when she arrived in Fairbanks on Sept. 26.
The woman said the first rape occurred in the U-Haul within hours. The two spent a few days at a Fairbanks motel, where they engaged in consensual sex, according to authorities.
The woman told Alaska State Troopers that Selovich then took her to his property south of Manley Springs on Oct. 1 and held her captive.
The woman said he used duct tape to bind the two together at night and placed a rope around her neck so she couldn’t run away, according to an affidavit written by trooper Matthew Iverson.
The woman contacted a friend through Facebook.
Selovich was arrested on Nov. 8. He and the woman were taken to Fairbanks, where the woman was hospitalized.
The Associated Press does not generally identify people who say they are victims of sex crimes.
Authorities say troopers who searched the cabin with a warrant found a knife, several pieces of duct tape and a roll of the tape. Troopers also found a rope tied to a roof beam.
At Tuesday’s court hearing, Biderman asked that identifying information for his client be changed.
“The information I have is that Mr. Selovich legally changed his name back in September 2013 to Pirate, no first name,” Biderman said.
In response, Superior Court Judge Bethany Harbison said Selovich’s name will remain in place as it is until the name change can be confirmed.
During the hearing, the woman listened by telephone and did not make any statements.
Selovich addressed her by name at one point, calling her “baby.”
His trial has been scheduled for late January in Nenana.
