Connecticut Struggling With Sexting Violations

Connecticut lawmakers are considering a way to keep young people off the state’s sex offender registry if convicted of “sexting.”

Sexting — a contraction of “sex” and “texting” — is the act of sending sexually explicit messages or photographs electronically, often between mobile phones.

Under existing law in Connecticut, sending or receiving messages that include nude or sexual images falls under the state’s child pornography statutes. Those convicted are put on a state sex-offender registry.

The proposed bill, which was being debated on Monday by the state legislature’s joint judiciary committee in Hartford, would reduce the charge from a felony to a misdemeanor when the sexting is between minors of 13 to 18 years of age who are in some sort of relationship.

Inline Skater Faces Charges Over Traffic Dispute With Tricycle

A Connecticut in-line skater faces assault and other charges after a confrontation over whether a 4-year-old on a tricycle had the right to be on a bike path.

Stamford police charged 43-year-old Chris Karamon with third-degree assault, risk of injury to a minor and other crimes.

Police said Karamon shouted and cursed at the boy’s parents on the path in Cove Island Park. Police said he later skated into the boy’s father, who was shielding his children, and threw a helmet and water bottle at him.

Police Lt. Sean Cooney said the path is for use by everyone, not just skaters.

Karamon declined to comment.

Man Arrives For Dentist Appointment Late And Naked

Police say a Connecticut man has been arrested because he showed up at a dental office naked.

Police say 41-year-old Christopher Hoff, of Stratford, also was five days late for his appointment.  Authorities said Hoff entered Optimus Dental’s office with nothing on. A startled female receptionist screamed, and he ran away.

Officers went to his home, and Hoff told them he had been sleeping all day. Police took Hoff to the dental office, where the receptionist identified him.

Hoff was charged with disorderly conduct, public indecency and failure to comply with fingerprinting.

He did not immediately return a telephone message left Wednesday at his home. It’s unclear if he has an attorney.

Bride Rescues Family From Burning House

A Connecticut family was saved from a house fire by a newlywed who rushed inside through thick smoke while wearing her wedding gown.

Officials say Georgette Clemons had just left her wedding reception when she spotted smoke coming from a Bridgeport home.

Clemons got out of the car she was riding in and ran into the home. She says a woman was yelling about her animals and didn’t want to leave, so she had to pull her out.

As firefighters arrived and battled the blaze after members of the Eitelberg family were rescued, Clemons was nearby folding her blackened wedding dress.

Clemons says she messed up her shoes, but says that’s no big deal because everyone is safe.

Well She Said To ‘Bite Me’

An analyst at the Connecticut Police Academy says a co-worker responded literally to her “bite me” remark and chomped on her.

Former Waterbury police Capt. Francis Woodruff was charged with disorderly conduct and released on a promise to appear in court. He’s accused of biting academy license and applications analyst Rochelle Wyler on April 24.

A police arrest report says Wyler had teeth marks and bruising on the back of her left arm.

Wyler’s complaint alleges Woodruff was annoying her by calling her a clerk. She says she responded with “bite me” — and he did.

Woodruff also is a training coordinator with the 130-member police department in Meriden, just south of Hartford. He says he was joking around.

Check Out The 2-Nosed Bunny Rabbit

This was no April Fools joke.  The baby bunny really does have two noses.

A Connecticut pet shop worker found the nosey bunny in a delivery of 6-week-old dwarf rabbits that arrived at the Milford store last week.  Both noses have two nostrils.  The owner of the Purr-Fect Pets shop says he’s never seen anything like it in 25 years in the business. He says the bunny eats, drinks and hops around like the rest of the litter.

Beardsley Zoo director Gregg Dancho says the deformity could be the result of too much inbreeding or the parents’ exposure to pesticides or poisons.

Store workers have begun a naming contest with Cyrano de Bergerac and Deuce among the contenders so far.

TV Chimp Travis Goes Crazy In Connecticut

 A highly trained 200-pound chimpanzee who once starred in TV commercials for Old Navy and Coca-Cola was shot dead by police after a violent rampage that left a friend of its owner badly mauled.

Sandra Herold, the owner of the 15-year-old chimp named Travis, wrestled with the animal after it inexplicably attacked her friend when the visitor got out of her car in front of Herold’s home.

“She retrieved a large butcher knife and stabbed her longtime pet numerous times in an effort to save her friend, who was really being brutally attacked,” said Stamford police Capt. Richard Conklin.

After the initial attack, Travis ran away and started roaming Herold’s property until police arrived, setting up security so medics could reach the critically injured woman, Conklin said.

But the chimpanzee returned and went after several of the officers, who retreated into their cars, Conklin said. Travis knocked the mirror off a cruiser before opening its door and starting to get in, trapping the officer.

The officer shot and killed the chimpanzee.