11/04/2005

The Republican American (Waterbury, CT)
By BEN CONERY

Stalking evidence on film

City police say Regan photographed women

WATERBURY, CT - Staked out in his van, John Regan took photographs of dozens of unsuspecting women, including a 21-year-old former co-worker he previously tried to assault, according to Waterbury police.

On Thursday, as Regan was recovering from an apparent suicide attempt in a jail in upstate New York, Waterbury police charged him with stalking the former co-worker more than a year after he was arrested and charged with trying to sexually force himself on her.

Regan was free on bond pending a trial in that case and another case stemming from a 1993 rape when he was arrested Monday in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., and charged with trying to abduct a 17-year-old girl form her high school's parking lot.

A judge ordered Regan, a member of a prominent Waterbury family, held without bond.

But the cases against Regan nearly ended Thursday, his 49th birthday, when he tried to hang himself in an upstate New York jail cell.

Authorities said a guard was checking Regan every 15 minutes, standard procedure during the first 72 hours after a prisoner arrives. Regan had been left alone for nine minutes when a deputy found him hanging by a bed sheet from the top bunk, according to Saratoga County District Attorney James A. Murphy III.

Regan remained hospitalized Thursday night under guard in the intensive care unit. Murphy said Regan was lucid and did not appear to suffer significant brain damage.

Also on Thursday, Waterbury Police Superintendent Neil O'Leary revealed the stalking charges are the result of an investigation that began weeks before Regan was arrested in New York.

A photo technician at a department store became uneasy after developing film left by Regan several weeks ago. The pictures were of women seemingly unaware they were being photographed, O'Leary said. The technician recognized Regan's name from newspaper articles reporting his earlier arrests, he said.

"We would have probably never known Mr. Regan was involved in this type of activity if it wasn't for this person's attentiveness," O'Leary said. He would not identify the store or the technician.

Police seized two rolls of film from the store. Each roll depicts at least a dozen women, O'Leary said. Images of three women, including the woman he is charged with trying to assault, appear on both rolls. The photographs were taken a week apart in September, he said.

O'Leary said police recognized the location of some photographs as the Farmington Canal Linear Park in Cheshire. Police then enlisted the help of a Cheshire detective to identify other locations depicted in the photographs.

One of the buildings the Cheshire detective recognized turned out to be the office building where Regan's alleged victim works, O'Leary said.

The woman, who used to work with Regan in Waterbury, was shown the photos and identified herself, O'Leary said. She also helped police identify two other women, he said.

The investigation is ongoing and more charges are possible against Regan.

On Thursday, Waterbury police obtained an arrest warrant charging Regan with first-degree stalking. A condition of his pretrial release from jail was to stay away from the alleged victim. The stalking charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in jail.

Regan, who is married and the father of three children, is the grandson of Frank G. Regan, a longtime educator in Waterbury for whom Regan School is named.

Saratoga County District Attorney Murphy said Saratoga city police and New York State Police are investigating missing persons cases in upstate New York and western Massachusetts to determine if there are any links to Regan.

O'Leary said Waterbury police are going to try to track Regan's movements as far back as they can. He said police want to determine if Regan could be a suspect in crimes similar to those he has been charged with.

TIMELINE OF CHARGES

AUGUST 2004: John Regan is arrested and charged with unlawful restraint. Police allege Regan assaulted a 21-year-old co-worker, but she managed to escape. That charge carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.

OCTOBER 2004: Results of a DNA test link Regan to a notorious 1993 rape case. That case changed the way Waterbury police handled sex assault cases. The victim sued the department for accusing her of lying about the rape to mask an affair. She won $190,000 in damages.

NOVEMBER 2004: Regan is charged with kidnapping in the 1993 case because the statute of limitations on rape had run out six years before his arrest. He faces up to 60 years if convicted. He is freed on bonds totaling $375,000.

OCTOBER 31, 2005: Regan is arrested in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., after police allege he tried to drag a 17-year-old girl into his van. Regan is charged with kidnapping, which carries a maximum prison term of 15 years.

NOVEMBER 3, 2005: Waterbury police charge Regan with stalking the alleged victim from his August 2004 arrest. Police say Regan took photographs of the woman outside her office in Cheshire without her knowledge.

NOVEMBER 3, 2005: Regan tries to commit suicide while in jail in Saratoga Springs.