MANCHESTER, NH – A city man received a suspended sentence Monday after he pled guilty to a reckless conduct charge accusing him of placing his infant daughter into a clothes dryer and turning it on.
The baby, then 4 ½ months old, was uninjured.
Judge David Anderson, presiding in Hillsborough County Superior Court Northern District, sentenced Michael Higgins, 35, formerly of 444 Kimball St., Apt. 5, to two- to four-years, suspended, and placed him on three years of probation. Higgins was given pre-trial confinement credit of 136 days.
The sentence is suspended for four years on condition he continue to supply compliance reports from the PTSD Foundation of America to probation; continue to provide the state with monthly compliance reports, and have no contact with his daughter unless as determined otherwise by Family Court.
Higgins can petition the court to terminate probation after two years upon showing he has complied with all conditions of probation and has remained on good behavior.
The incident happened in September 2021 at the Kimball Street apartment. Police were called there about 12:30 a.m. on Sept. 12, 2021, for a domestic incident.
According to Detective Scott Riley’s sworn affidavit, Higgins and his girlfriend, identified only by her initials “P.N.” in court documents, had been arguing. Higgins, who police said was under the influence, told officers his girlfriend caught him using the dating app, “Tinder.” Asked by officers if he had any weapons on him, Higgins took off his clothes and exposed himself to them.
The girlfriend told police that four days earlier on Sept. 8, 2021, in the afternoon Higgins had put their baby in the dryer and turned it on. “After a short time,” Riley wrote, Higgins stopped the dryer and took the baby out. The girlfriend said he wouldn’t allow her to take the child immediately but after a brief time she was able to get the baby from him. The baby did not need medical treatment, the girlfriend said.
She said the argument the morning of Sept. 12, 2021, happened because she confronted Higgins about his drinking. She told officers Higgins is a veteran with mental health problems. She said he had been sober until he relapsed.
He was acting erratic prior to her calling 911, she said.
Charges of criminal threatening and endangering the welfare of a child were dropped as part of the negotiated plea and sentenced.
