A Fairfield man has been arrested, accused of sexually assaulting a teenage autistic boy at his grandmother's wake in Stratford.
A warrant was issued for Robert Purcell, 74, of Fairfield, charging him with second-degree sexual assault, fourth-degree sexual assault, indecent exposure and risk of injury to a minor.
On Tuesday, he turned himself at the Stratford Police Department, posted a $100,000 bond and was released.
Police said the incidents are alleged to have occurred in Stratford at a local funeral home and a private residence.
The arrest stems from an investigation initiated by the Wallingford Police Department, police said.
Fairfield police arrested Purcell in January after Wallingford police reached out to them about a sexual assault there.
Fairfield police said the child’s parents said they believed someone the family knew committed the crimes in Wallingford, and more crimes in Fairfield and Stratford.
Wallingford police interviewed Purcell at the Fairfield Police Department and determined that he had assaulted the minor more than 12 times over four years, police said.
Working with an inspector at the Bridgeport Superior Court, Wallingford Detectives and the State’s Attorney’s office in New Haven, Fairfield police they found evidence that Purcell had assaulted a boy in February 2011 at his Fairfield home, police said. It was described as the most serious of all the events, police said.
Stratford police said detectives worked in conjunction with investigators from Wallingford and Fairfield.
Purcell is due in court for pretrial hearings. He will appear in court on Feb. 10 for the Fairfield case and on Feb. 26 for the Wallingford case.
