Police say the sexual assault charges grew out of the investigation into the death of 12-year-old Eve Rogers.
ENFIELD, Conn. — The stepfather of a 12-year-old Enfield girl found dead in her bedroom last month was due in court Monday after police charged him with first-degree sexual assault and risk of injury to a child in a case that has shaken the town.
Anthony Federline, 39, was arrested April 2 and was scheduled to appear in Hartford Superior Court on April 6. Police said the charges stem from their investigation into the March 18 death of Eve Rogers, whose cause and manner of death have not yet been released. Investigators have said the medical examiner is still waiting on toxicology results, leaving one of the biggest questions in the case unresolved as the criminal case begins to move through court.
Police were called to the family’s Elm Street home on the morning of March 18 for an unresponsive 12-year-old girl. According to court records summarized by local news outlets, officers arrived to find Eve dead on the floor of her bedroom. Her mother told police she had not seen the girl since the night before and that it was not unusual for her daughter to lock her bedroom door. The mother said she became alarmed when Eve did not answer that morning, opened the door with a butter knife and found her face down on the floor. Police said the lower half of the child’s body was covered by a blanket and that rigor mortis had already set in.
Investigators also reported finding pills in the room, including one red or pink pill, one clear capsule with white powder and other tablets nearby. A laptop was open on the bedroom floor. But the case widened beyond a death investigation after what police described as suspicious circumstances at the scene. A sexual assault kit was performed before the autopsy. According to the arrest warrant as described by multiple Connecticut outlets, the examination found male DNA on parts of the child’s body, and the medical examiner noted signs of vaginal penetration, though the examiner could not determine from the exam alone who or what caused those injuries.
Police then sought DNA swabs from family members, and investigators said Federline agreed to provide a sample. Test results later indicated that his DNA was likely present on the child, according to the warrant accounts published by local media. Police have said they cannot publicly confirm whether Eve is the named victim in the sexual assault case because the alleged victim is a juvenile. Even so, Chief Alaric Fox made clear that the charges grew directly out of the broader death investigation. “Certainly, the emotions of an event like this and the impact that has on this community, or any community, are very understandable,” Fox said in remarks carried by WFSB.
The arrest has added another layer of shock because Federline also worked as a school bus driver connected to Enfield Public Schools. Superintendent Steven Moccio said he was employed by Smyth Bus Company, the district’s transportation contractor, and was fired immediately after his arrest. The company said he had passed fingerprint-based state and national criminal background checks and a review of the Department of Children and Families child abuse and neglect registry before being hired. Smyth said he had worked there for about six months. School officials said counseling and support services would be available for students and families affected by the news.
The case has also drawn in state child welfare officials. Ken Mysogland of the Department of Children and Families said the agency is investigating both the girl’s death and the allegations of child sexual abuse, but DCF has not said whether it had previous contact with the family. Eve had been homeschooled since 2022, according to CT Mirror, and that detail has prompted new public debate in Hartford over whether Connecticut needs tighter oversight for children educated outside traditional school settings. State Rep. John Santanella, who represents Enfield, said the case has raised urgent questions about whether some children can slip out of public view.
For now, the legal case remains at an early stage. Federline was being held on a $1 million bond ahead of Monday’s arraignment. Prosecutors were expected to outline the charges in court, while police and the medical examiner continue separate parts of the investigation. No public ruling had yet answered the central question of how Eve died, and that gap is likely to shape both the criminal proceedings and the wider public response in the weeks ahead.
The case stood Monday at the intersection of a death investigation, a sexual assault prosecution and a growing review of the systems that surrounded the child before she died. The next milestone is the court appearance in Hartford, while investigators await the medical examiner’s final findings.
Author note: Last updated April 6, 2026.