Enfield Bus Driver Charged After 12-Year-Old Girl Found Dead In Home

ENFIELD, CT — More than two weeks after 12-year-old Eve Rogers was found dead inside her Elm Street home, Enfield police arrested her stepfather on sexual assault charges.

Anthony Federline, 39, was charged with first-degree sexual assault and risk of injury to a child. Police said he was being held on a $1 million bond and was scheduled to be arraigned Monday in Hartford Superior Court.

Federline had also been working as a bus driver for Enfield Public Schools through Smyth Bus, the district’s contracted transportation provider. Smyth Bus said it was notified late Thursday of the arrest and immediately terminated his employment, while school officials said counseling and support services will be available Monday for anyone in the school community affected by the news.

The charges stem from the March 18 investigation at the family’s home in the 100 block of Elm Street. Police, firefighters and EMS crews were called there that morning for a report of an unresponsive female, and responders confirmed the girl had died at the scene.

According to an arrest warrant obtained by WFSB-TV, the girl’s mother told investigators she last saw her daughter the night before, between about 8 and 8:30 p.m. The next morning, after the girl did not respond to knocking, her mother used a butter knife to open the bedroom door and found her on the floor.

Officers noticed pills in the bedroom when they responded, according to the warrant obtained by WFSB-TV. Investigators reported finding one red or pink pill, one clear capsule containing white powder, and a white pill marked “Aspirin” on the girl’s desk.

An investigator also observed signs that the girl had been sexually assaulted, according to the warrant. The next day, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner performed a sexual assault evidence collection exam that included swabs from the girl’s genitals and other areas.

Police later collected known DNA samples from family members and from Federline. On April 2, investigators received results from the state forensic laboratory identifying Federline as one of the contributors to DNA found in a genital swab, according to the warrant.

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner is still investigating the girl’s cause of death, according to reporting by Channel 3 Eyewitness News.

The state Department of Children and Families is also investigating the girl’s death and the sexual assault allegations alongside law enforcement.

The arrest sparked a series of statements Friday from local officials and agencies connected to the case.

Smyth Bus said it was notified around 11:30 p.m. Thursday of the arrest of one of its drivers and immediately terminated his employment. The company said Federline had worked there for about six months, had no prior criminal history at the time he was hired and had passed its required background checks.

Enfield Public Schools Superintendent Steven A. Moccio said the district learned of the arrest of a driver employed by Smyth Bus, the district’s transportation contractor. He said counseling and support services will be available Monday for anyone who may need them.

State Rep. John Santanella, D-Enfield, said the arrest raises broader questions about whether gaps in state systems allow vulnerable children to fall out of view. He called for changes to pending state legislation so it is more narrowly focused on protecting children at risk while not overburdening homeschooling families acting in good faith.