A 41-year-old New Canaan man was arrested on a felony charge this past weekend after violating a protective order designed to restrict contact with his wife to matters regarding the couple’s children and keep him away from his wife’s residence, police said.
He came to police headquarters at 6:40 p.m. Sunday and was arrested there, according to New Canaan Police Sgt. Carol Ogrinc, the department’s public information officer.
The husband has been restricted to only emailing, texting or talking with his wife in relation to matters regarding their kids—and prevented from physically going to her place of residence here in town—since a protective order was issued in March, Ogrinc said.
He’s accused of going to a school event on Friday and trying to engage his wife in conversation unrelated to their kids, police said.
Then he showed up at her house on Saturday and banged on her windows, and continued to text and call his wife, according to a police report. He phoned her on the pretext of talking about the children and then tried to engage her in conversation, police said.
The man was charged with violation of a protective order and first-degree criminal trespass, a felony. He was held on $500,000 bond and scheduled to appear May 19 in state Superior Court in Norwalk.
Police have said New Canaan has seen a “significant increase” in the past four or five months in domestic incidents in New Canaan. Year-over-year from January, the number of incidents in New Canaan rose from 19 to 32—a rise that Police Chief Leon Krolikowski attributes to increased awareness of resources for domestic violence victims.
The New Canaan Domestic Violence Partnership has operated in New Canaan for more than 10 years. It’s part of the Domestic Violence Crisis Center which, its website says, is “dedicated to the task of helping you and your children find ways to live your lives in peace, without the threat of violence, intimidation or abuse.” The DVCC can be reached 24 hours per day at 888-774-2900.