Date: Fri 02-Oct-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: ANDYG

Quick Words:

police-nocturnal-intruder

Full Text:

Local Man Arrested In "Nocturnal Intruder" Case

BY ANDREW GOROSKO

Police said Wednesday they have apprehended the Riverside man they believe is

the "nocturnal intruder" who made a series of illegal nighttime house entries

during the summer of 1997 in that neighborhood alongside the Housatonic River.

At about 7:10 pm Tuesday, police served an arrest warrant against Kennith J.

Northrop, 28, of 86 Alpine Drive, Riverside, listing two counts of

second-degree burglary and three counts of fourth-degree sexual assault.

Northrop was held on a $50,000 bond for a Wednesday arraignment in Danbury

Superior Court. After his arraignment, a future court date was scheduled for

the case.

The arrest follows a year-long investigation into the illegal house entries

conducted by town police, state police, and the Federal Bureau of

Investigation.

One count of second-degree burglary and one count of fourth-degree sexual

assault stem from Northrop's alleged entrance into a Waterview Drive residence

in August 1997, police said.

One count of second-degree burglary and two counts of fourth-degree sexual

assault result from his alleged entrance into a Riverside residence in June

1997, police said.

There were no injuries in the incidents, police said.

Evidence obtained in the investigation recently was linked to Northrop by the

state police's forensic laboratory in Meriden, town police said.

Last June 23, Northrop was arrested by town police on a third-degree criminal

trespassing and breach of the peace charge after he was found by a Dock Drive

homeowner in his backyard at about 2:50 am. The unidentified homeowner became

involved in a struggle with Northrop and then detained him until police

arrived, police said.

The homeowner had been told by two girls who were sleeping in a tent in his

backyard that they had heard and seen someone walking on the property, leading

to the man's discovery by the homeowner, police have said.

On June 23, the state police's Western District Major Crime Squad sent its

evidence van to the Dock Drive address to collect physical evidence.

In the incidents during the summer of 1997, Northrop allegedly entered homes

in Riverside between 2 and 4 am.

In the summer of 1997, town police called in the state police major crime

squad to help investigate the incidents. On August 5, 1997, the Connecticut

State Police Major Crime Squad's evidence collection van went to an Underhill

Road home in Riverside, where an incident had occurred at 3 am that morning.

In the reported cases, Northrop allegedly opened an unlocked door or cut a

screen window to gain access to a residence. The intruder went to a room where

either infants or small children were sleeping. In two cases, infants were

approached by the intruder. In a third case, a small child was approached.

Police focused their investigation in the Underhill Road area between Alpine

Drive and the Housatonic Hotel. The Riverside section is on the Housatonic

River, in the area of Interstate 84's Rochambeau Bridge.

The nighttime incidents led police to boost surveillance in the area and

conduct door-to-door interviews of residents.

In the summer of 1997, police conducted a neighborhood meeting for area

residents concerned about the nighttime intrusions, and raised the possibility

that residents form a neighborhood crime watch to keep an eye on suspicious

activity.