A man identifying himself as the suspect in a domestic abuse case involving an incident at socialite Denise Rich's house denied all the allegations in a lengthy phone interview Wednesday and said he would plead not guilty.

Jules Paxton said the allegations made by his girlfriend were due to a "bipolar episode" and he alleged that she suffers from a variety of psychological problems. According to a police report, his girlfriend, whose name has not been released, told police that he had abused her and locked her in a room in Rich's Red Mountain home for three days.

Paxton is charged with third-degree assault and criminal mischief.

"This is a very stressful situation for me," Paxton said. "All of the allegations that she's made in that report are completely false.

"Her psychological state is highly imbalanced. She is presently on a variety of different medications. She was drinking, not resting enough and had an episode."

He also expressed remorse for the involvement of Rich, a prominent presence in New York's social scene and a benefactor to the Democratic Party.

"I regret thoroughly and deeply any embarrassment and pain that I've brought upon Ms. Rich," he said. "She has no culpability in this situation at all. It's just completely detrimental to her.

"I kept my personal life to myself and did not impose any of that on her. She's a very kind and generous woman."

Paxton would not comment on his relationship to Rich. But an article on the website www.seekwellness.com, titled "Traveling With Your Guru: A Case of Infantile Dependency For Those With Money to Burn," said he was a "yoga master and one of the most traveled gurus."

"He gets to fly first class to Aspen and other nice places with Denise Rich," says the article, which was written by Donald Ardell in May 2003. It cites a piece in The New York Times from that same month. "The go-along gurus dine at smart eateries ... in return for client convenience when a private stretching lesson or some such guru service is desired."

During the interview Paxton, who declined to say where he was calling from, would not confirm whether he was employed as a yoga instructor.

"Obviously this is not going to be a nice thing for my profession and my reputation. It's very hurtful," he said.

The website article says Rich "further defends the self-indulgence of toting a guru along because '... it's so important to come inside yourself with something like meditation, rather than focus on what is going on around you ... my work with Jules is elevating, spiritually and physically. It improves my body, mind and song writing.'"

Paxton alleged that his girlfriend suffers from "borderline personality disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, is bipolar and [has] a chronic type of depression." Paxton said he has been the woman's boyfriend "for years."

He also criticized Aspen police officers for not delving into his girlfriend's "psychological and medical history before they incarcerated me and allowed me to show that these allegations are false. I did not strike her, I did not push her, I did not hurt her in any way."

As for the allegation that Paxton locked her in a room in Rich's Aspen mansion, he said, "There are people who saw her [at that time] and would say she was fine."

What led police to the allegation that she was held captive, according to the police report, was a scar on the woman's wrist. She told police "that she had cut her wrist out of desperation during the week of Thanksgiving, when Paxton had locked [her] in a room for three days at the residence of Rich, who is a client of Paxton's on Red Mountain," the report says.

The Aspen police officers involved in the case were not available for comment Wednesday.

Chad Abraham's e-mail address is chad@aspentimes.com