A teenager who fought off his attacker and grabbed the man’s cell phone helped lead police to arrest a Wittenberg University professor on rape and kidnapping charges.

Hollant “Max” Adrien, 52, of Springfield, was taken into custody Tuesday in connection with stranger attacks against young men in the Springfield area. A judge set his bond at more than $1 million.

Officers searched his McCreight Avenue home and arrested Adrien, who has been teaching French at the university since August 2011. His classes have been cancelled this week, and he has been placed on unpaid administrative leave, pending the outcome of his criminal case, said Wittenberg Provost Christopher Duncan.

Adrien declined a request to be interviewed by the Springfield News-Sun.

According to Springfield police, Adrien is connected to two kidnapping and rape cases as well as the kidnapping of a 17-year-old in Snyder Park on Oct. 4. In the latest case, the teen escaped from his attacker, who chased him in Snyder Park, struck him in the head and dragged him into his car. The victim pushed away, grabbed the man’s bag and cell phone and fled, according to police.

A subpoena of cell phone records identified Adrien as the suspect, and victims identified him in a photo lineup, according to Clark County Municipal Court documents.

One of the cases against Adrien dates back to July 2010. The victim, then 20, told detectives he was walking at East John Street when a man on a bike asked him if he would help him find something in the woods. The young man told officers that, once off the street, the man grabbed him from behind, told him not to move or he would shoot him, and then allegedly raped him. Afterward, the attacker fled on his bike, according to the police report.

A similar kidnapping and rape that’s also been tied to Adrien was reported Aug. 23 this year. The victim, 19 years old, was described by police as developmentally disabled. He told officers he was walking near Pine and Kenton streets when a man approached him in a vehicle and told him, “If you get in the car, I won’t shoot you,” according to police.

He then drove the teen to New Reid Park off Leffel Lane, where he allegedly raped him. The attacker allegedly drove the victim back to Pine and Kenton streets, gave him $10 and told him to return to the intersection the next day or he would “find him and kill him,” the teen told officers. The money was taken by police as evidence.

Upon his arrest Tuesday, police said Adrien denied the allegations, in some cases giving a different version for what occurred. He also refused to give a DNA sample.

During arraignment in Clark County Municipal Court on Wednesday, Adrien pleaded not guilty to two counts of rape and two counts of kidnapping, all first-degree felonies. He’s being held in the Clark County Jail on $1.1 million bond.

Judge Eugene Nevius said that because Adrien is an immigrant from Haiti with family ties there, he ordered that he surrender his passport and that he wear a GPS monitoring device if he is able to post bond.

Officers said they are still investigating but at this point have not indicated Adrien is connected to any assaults on the Wittenberg campus.

Wittenberg senior Rebecca Cox said the arrest was ironic because it is sexual assault awareness and protection week on campus after assaults involving students.

“For your own faculty to be negatively involved with that, it’s just a horrible example,” Cox said of the allegations against Adrien.

Male students said the arrest has made them more aware of the danger to anyone, no matter their age or gender.

“I never thought that could really happen to another male, but finding that out, it definitely put me on notice,” said JaVahn Sanders, a senior student at Wittenberg.

Duncan said Wittenberg never received any complaints against Adrien, who’s been ordered to stay off campus and not contact any students during the investigation.

He came to the university after serving as a visiting professor at Hamlin University in St. Paul, Minn., since 2008. A thorough background check is completed on new hires, Duncan said, and the only complaint against Adrien at the time was a speeding ticket. He has no prior criminal history in Clark County, according to court documents.

“Wittenberg is a religious institution, and we are deeply, deeply saddened that anyone was harmed,” Duncan said. “Obviously, human beings have minds of their own, and we had absolutely no indication whatsoever that there were any problems with this faculty member.”

Clark County Prosecutor Andy Wilson said he plans to present the case to a grand jury next week.