PD: West Haven Man Raped, Strangled Girl Who Left DCF Facility

The following police reports come from the Middletown Police public information officer. Individuals named here reflect charges filed, never a conviction.

A West Haven man who allegedly choked a girl until she passed out and raped her in an isolated area of Middletown is facing a host of charges  including sexual assault and strangulation, according to police.

On Nov. 17 at 5:32 p.m., police were called to a home on Bow Lane by a 15-year-old female said Robert Andrews, 34, of Brown Street, West Haven, had assaulted her, according to the report. 

Police say she the girl, who said she knew Andrews for three years because she babysat for his child, had a red mark around her neck that looked like it came from a ligature. The report says the victim is staying in a Department of Children and Families home in Manchester and asked Andrews to pick her up the day before and bring her home for her birthday on the 18th. 

Police say at 3 p.m. on Nov. 17 he picked her up, drove her to the children's psychiatric facility, Riverview Hospital, saying he had stayed there when he was younger, and drove to a tree farm where he reportedly asked her to have sex and she declined.

The victim left the car, the report says, but Andrews came behind her and choked her until she passed out. She awoke when it was dark, in the woods, police say, with her pants around her ankles, then fled to the first house she saw and knocked on the door.

At the hospital, police say, medical staff said the marks on the girls face were "petachiae" which are broken capillary blood vessels that appear after being choked, and they were "shocked that the victim was still alive considering the severity of her injuries." 

Andrews was picked up by West Haven Police, brought to Middletown, and upon interview told officers he met her at the American Legion more than two years before and she used to babysit his son until he found out she neglected his son, according to the report. 

A couple of weeks ago, Andrews said, she contacted him and they met at Dunkin Donuts and discussed emancipation. On Nov. 16, the report says, the victim called Andrews while crying and they met the next day at a convenience store where the victim reportedly asked him to bring her home for her birthday.

Police say Andrews insisted he never brought her to Middletown, according to the report, then recanted, saying he forced her out of the car near the radio station. Upon further interviews, police say, Andrews admitted they had consensual sex, he never used a belt and everything was fine when he left her.

He was charged with risk of injury to a child, first-degree assault, first-degree reckless endangerment, first-degree strangulation and first-degree aggravated sexual assault.

Andrews is being held on a $250,000 bond and is due back in court on Dec. 3 at 10 a.m.