Appeals Court Upholds 'Clark Rockefeller' Kidnapping, Assault Convictions

BOSTON (AP) — The Massachusetts appeals court has upheld the kidnapping and assault convictions of the German man who used the name Clark Rockefeller.

The court Friday rejected several arguments for a new trial from lawyers for Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter. They had argued his case was marred by pretrial publicity and that the trial judge allowed improper testimony from a psychiatric expert for the state.

Gerhartsreiter was convicted in 2009 of kidnapping his 7-year-old daughter during a supervised visit in Boston. He was also found guilty of assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon for injuries to a social worker overseeing the visit.

Gerhartsreiter, who also used other identities, was sentenced to four-to-five years in prison.

Earlier this year, a California judge ruled there was sufficient evidence to hold Gerhartsreiter for trial there in a 1985 slaying.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.