A Waterford man was arrested Wednesday after his 4-year-old son wandered away from home and told police his father was sleeping and wouldn't wake up.
Police said the young boy walked nearly three quarters of a mile from his father's house on Ridgewood Avenue in Waterford to the 900 block of Ocean Avenue in New London, where he was found wandering around 4 p.m. Wednesday.
The child told police he could not wake his father, who was asleep at home. Police later identified the father as 28-year-old Phillip Rahilly.
Officers called the boy's mother, who was at work in Rhode Island, and asked her to come pick him up. The mother said her son was supposed to be at his father's house in Waterford.
While they were waiting, Rahilly showed up looking for the boy.
Rahilly told officers he had been driving around for 20 minutes searching for the child. He claimed the boy had walked out while he was in the shower, but police said Rahilly's appearance "did not reflect the fact that he had showered recently."
Rahilly was arrested and charged with risk of injury to a minor. He was held on $75,000 bond.
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Police said the Department of Children and Families is also involved in the investigation.
It's not clear if Rahilly has an attorney.
