D. Duplaisir pleads not guilty to alleged blackmail, J. Aune's suicide HOUSTON, March 26 (UPI) -- A man accused of tormenting a Texas A&M University professor, leading to his suicide, pleaded not guilty in federal court in Houston Tuesday. Daniel Duplaisir, 37, of Metairie, La., allegedly used an underage female relative to lure Dr. James Aune, 59, chairman of the Texas A&M department of communications, into sexually explicit online relationship that ended in Aune jumping to his death Jan. 8 from a school parking garage, KHOU-TV, Houston, reported. Duplaisir was charged with using a telephone to blackmail Aune, demanding $5,000 in hush money. Aune paid $1,000 before his death, court documents said. An FBI affidavit said Duplaisir took nude photographs and videos of the girl, whose name and age was not specified in court documents, to use in the blackmail scheme. The online relationship escalated until Duplaisir phoned Aune, calling as an outraged father demanding payment to keep the incidents quiet and to pay for the girl's counseling, The Houston Chronicle reported Tuesday.