Thomas Breen file photo
Arrested New Haven Police Officer Christopher Troche with attorney Rosemarie Paine in court on Friday.
The lawyer representing a New Haven police officer who has been arrested for allegedly pressuring an undocumented 19-year-old Honduran immigrant to send him nude photographs and have sex with him in exchange for money claimed that her client is innocent of the charge he is facing: that is, one count of soliciting a prostitute.
Local attorney Rosemarie Paine offered that take Friday afternoon during a phone conversation with the New Haven Independent.
The conversation took place after New Haven Police Officer Christopher Troche appeared in a third-floor courtroom at 121 Elm St. Friday morning for the first hearing in his ongoing criminal case.
The only outcome of the two-minute procedural hearing was that state Superior Court Judge Philip Scarpellino agreed to continue Troche’s case until Jan. 11 after Paine and Supervisory State’s Attorney David Strollo agreed to that date.
Troche, a 31-year-old police officer who has worked for the NHPD since 2018, has been on paid administrative leave since April. He was arrested in this case in November.
A recently unsealed arrest warrant affidavit in his case includes allegations by a 19-year-old undocumented immigrant living in Fair Haven that Troche responded to an unrelated call to the police for help in January. She said that Troche promptly contacted her, got her drunk, had sex with her at his downtown home, and paid her $100 in cash.
She also told police investigators that Troche was one of five New Haven police officers she had sexual relationships with during her time in Fair Haven, including recently resigned and de-certified former New Haven cop Gary Gamarra.
The single misdemeanor charge of soliciting a prostitute that Troche is currently facing in his criminal case stems from the victim’s and police investigators’ allegations that Troche spent months pressuring this young woman by text message to send him nude photographs and have sex with him again in exchange for money. (The section of the law invoked does not involve dealings with an actual prostitute, but rather the offer of money for sex.)
Click here to read more about those allegations.
Troche has not yet formally entered a plea in the case, though he is quoted in the arrest warrant affidavit as denying that he committed any criminal acts.
Troche, Paine, and state prosecutor David Strollo on Friday.
Neither he, his lawyer, the prosecutor, nor the judge spoke about any of the substantive matters of the case in open court on Friday.
After the hearing, Paine spoke briefly with the Independent to protest Troche’s innocence.
“My client is innocent of the one charge that is the subject of this case,” she said.
Paine has not yet received any discovery or evidence that state prosecutors plan to cite as they make their case against Troche. So, she said, she can’t yet comment on any of the underlying facts alleged in the arrest warrant affidavit written up by New Haven Police Det. Kealyn Nivakoff.
“I am looking forward to getting the information about this investigation.”
Asked the basis for the assertion that her client is innocent of the charge against him, Paine declined to comment.
All personal "feelings" aside, this case looks pretty weak from the State's Attorney. I'll put money on it that this officer gets his job back. In regards to Troche, I have only heard good things about him (via second hand) from Kensington area resident. Not sure what his background looks like, but we know the NHPD recommends some candidates for removal and the Board of Police Commissioners (BOPC) have pushed many of those individuals through. Hope this isn't the case here as it was former Officer Gary G.
This will be very interesting to see how this plays out.