Charges of false imprisonment and simple assault were filed Friday against a Penn State student after police said he grabbed a woman by her hair, threw her to the floor of his Nittany Apartments residence and would not allow her to leave.

Melvin Richard King, of Fairchance, Pa., was helping Penn State student Sarah Israel with a school paper at his 5503 Nittany Apartments residence when the woman noticed a purple iPod she thought had been stolen from her roommate's apartment on Jan. 30, according to the criminal complaint.

As Israel called her roommate to verify the serial number, King, 21, grabbed by her hair, threw her to the floor and got on top of her, slapping and hitting her, police said.

She screamed and hit King in the mouth before he let her get up, police said. Israel began to gather her things to go, but King locked the door and would not let her leave until she allowed him to explain, according to the criminal complaint.

King told police he took Israel's roommate's iPod on Jan. 30, but believed it belonged to a friend at the time, police said. He said he "tripped over the chair" and fell into Israel, police said. He said no fight or struggle occurred, according to the criminal complaint.

King's preliminary hearing is scheduled for March 18.