Purdue professor arrested for proposing women and trafficking meth

LAFAYETTE, Indiana — A Purdue University professor has been arrested after being accused of dealing meth and soliciting sexual favors from women.

According to the Lafayette Police Department, Sergey Macheret, 65, of Lafayette was arrested Wednesday after a lengthy investigation into reports of a “suspect man approaching women.” Macheret is accused of making an illegal offer, trafficking and possessing methamphetamine.

Indiana Code describes “making an unlawful offer” as offering to pay someone money or other property in order to engage in intercourse or other sexual activity.

Macheret is listed as a professor of aerospace engineering who has been at Purdue since 2014.

Purdue University said Macheret is on leave and suspended from campus. The university is also fully cooperating with the Macheret investigation.

Lafayette Police said the investigation into Macheret began in December after the department received multiple leads into incidents in which a suspected man approached women. Police said these incidents had been reported several times over the past two months.

Investigators eventually identified Macheret as a suspect and reportedly deployed a plainclothes officer Wednesday to obtain information, which subsequently resulted in a traffic delay near the intersection of N. 18th and Union Streets. Police said this traffic delay led to Macheret’s arrest.

At this time, the police have not released any further details of the investigation into Macheret. Police also have not specified where Macheret is accused of approaching women and offering them sexual favors.

Bill Crossley, director of the Purdue School of Aeronautics and Astronautics, told WLFI, “The university cannot comment on a pending litigation; However, any students, staff and faculty at AAE who have questions or concerns about the impact of this matter on their academic endeavors are welcome to contact me directly.”

Below is Purdue’s full statement:

“Purdue is aware of the arrest and the charges. The university will fully cooperate with the investigation. The employee has been placed on leave pending further updates and trial and is barred from campus. The Faculty of Aerospace works to ensure that the needs of undergraduate and graduate students are met in terms of lectures and laboratories. Purdue Police will assist Lafayette Police with the investigation as necessary and is unable to comment.