Henry Njoroge
By Joey Cresta jcresta@fosters.com
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
ROCHESTER — A local man originally from Kenya is being investigated by immigration officials after police say he left a 2-year-old child unattended in an unlocked apartment while he walked to the store.
Police Capt. Paul Callaghan said Henry K. Njoroge, 34, of 17 Glenwood Ave., Apt. 21, was charged after leaving a boy who is now 3 years old alone in his apartment while Njoroge walked to the nearby Signal Street Variety on March 24.
Callaghan said the boy’s mother arrived home between 12:30 and 1 p.m. that day. She could not find Njoroge and then called police, he said.
He said the boy was uninjured and was sleeping while his father walked an estimated quarter-mile to the convenience store. The boy was alone for an estimated half-hour, Callaghan said.
Njoroge was charged with a single Class A misdemeanor count of endangering the welfare of a child on Friday evening. According to an affidavit filed in court, police were called to 17 Glenwood Ave. that night because Njoroge’s wife reported that he had contacted her in violation of an active protective order.
Callaghan said protective orders are confidential, so he could not speak to the reasons it was placed into effect. He said Rochester Family Court issued the order on Thursday.
The affidavit said Njoroge violated the order by calling his wife, asking for his immigration paperwork and asking her to “tell their children that he loved them.”
Dover police assisted in the investigation by locating Njoroge at a local bar he is known to frequent. He was arrested on a violation of a protective order and a warrant for endangering the welfare of a child.
Njoroge was held for the weekend in county jail and arraigned on the charges by video feed in Rochester District Court Monday. He pleaded not guilty to the charges and had his bail set at $5,000 cash, which can convert to personal recognizance if he is monitored by Strafford County Community Corrections with a GPS ankle bracelet.
He is to have no contact with his wife or son involved in the alleged endangerment incident.
He is also under investigation by the office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Callaghan said he is from Kenya and his legal status in the United States is under investigation.
Njoroge is scheduled for trial on May 27, at 8 a.m.
Source: www.foster.com
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