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Teen's rescuer was fugitive child molester

Michael Rogers.
Michael Rogers.

HAMDEN, Conn., Dec. 1 (UPI) -- A 49-year-old man who helped rescue a suicidal teenage girl was a convicted child molester and fugitive, Hamden, Conn., police say.

Michael Rogers, who helped keep the teen from drowning in Lake Whitney in Hamden, was arrested Tuesday and charged as a fugitive from justice, the Hartford Courant reported.

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On Sept. 2, police received a report from the Children's Center of Hamden that a 16-year-old girl was missing and had threatened to commit suicide.

Later that day, police received a report the girl was at Lake Whitney and was attempting to drown herself, and a jogger, later identified as Rogers, was trying to keep her from going in the lake.

When Officer Jay Bunnell arrived at the lake, he said he saw Rogers, who identified himself as Michael Patrick, trying to keep the girl above water.

Bunnell and Rogers successfully pulled the girl out of the lake and the girl was taken to a hospital for treatment.

Later police received a tip about Rogers' identity.

Rogers was convicted in 2001 on four counts of child molestation in Georgia and fled the state in 2005, violating his parole.

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Georgia officials told Hamden police they will extradite Rogers.

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