Man charged with sexually assaulting a child

STAMFORD — A city man was arraigned Thursday on allegations that he allegedly fondled and sexually assaulted a preteen nearly 10 years ago, according to the man’s arrest warrant.

Canai Hill, 28, of Cove Road, was arraigned on charges of first-degree sexual assault, five counts each of risk of injury to a child by sexual contact and two counts of fourth-degree sexual assault of a minor. He was ordered held in lieu of $250,000 bond and transported to the Bridgeport Correctional Center.

Stamford defense attorney Andrew Gould, who represented Hill at his arraignment, declined comment on the case. Hill denied the allegations when interviewed by police.

According to Hill’s 10-page arrest affidavit, police began scrutinizing his history after a 17-yearold girl and her grandmother came to police headquarters in early March to file a complaint against Hill.

The woman said that she was a longtime neighbor of Hill and that on the day before he went into her house when she was out buying sneakers for her grandson and made sexual suggestions to her granddaughter.

According to the allegations made by the grandmother and the girl, after asking if she was alone, Hill asked if she was still a virgin and if she wanted to “do something.” When the phone rang, the teen was able to get Hill out of the house without incident, even though the girl claimed that he returned through the back door soon after, forcing her to lock herself and her younger brother in an upstairs bathroom while they hid from him. .

But that was not the basis for his arrest. When police asked the girl if Hill had ever made sexual advances to her before, she said he had when he was babysitting her at the age of 8 or 9, the affidavit said.

That allegation led to a forensic interview with a specialist from the state Department of Children and Families as well as a Child Guidance Advocate trained in interviewing young people about sexual assault allegations.

The girl’s 12-year-old brother was also interviewed and told the social worker that Hill rubbed his thigh one time within the past year.

When police talked to Hill, he denied ever babysitting the girl and he was never left along with the children. He said he was not that type of person and there were always people around when he was with the girl and her brother.

Hill is next due back in court on Dec. 21.