A Wallingford man was being held on $50,000 bail in the Bridgeport Correctional Center on Thursday, April 9, on pending criminal charges lodged by Monroe police on April 7.

The man allegedly made harassing telephone calls to schools in Monroe and Newtown concerning the December 14, 2012, shooting incident at Sandy Hook Elementary School, charging that the incident had been fabricated.

Monroe and Newtown police arrested Timothy Rogalski, 30, on a total of 12 charges on April 7, stemming from his allegedly calling three schools, among other places.

Monroe police arrested Rogalski at his Wallingford home, charging him with five counts of second-degree harassment and one count of disorderly conduct for allegedly placing five telephone calls to Sandy Hook Elementary School in Monroe and accusing the staff there of fabricating the shooting incident, Monroe police said.

After they arrived at the school on Fan Hill Road on April 7, Sandy Hook School staff members found four disturbing telephone messages on their school telephone answering machine from a male caller, according to Monroe police. Later that morning, the same man called again and spoke to an administrative assistant at the school, Monroe police said.

Police investigated and traced the calls back to Rogalski at his home. Monroe police, assisted by Wallingford police, arrested Rogalski.

Monroe police then held Rogalski on $2,500 bail for an April 8 arraignment in Bridgeport Superior Court.

According to electronic court records, at his arraignment Rogalski was presented on one count of second-degree harassment and one count of disorderly conduct. He did not enter pleas to the charges. He is scheduled to return to court on April 22.

The Fan Hill Road school building in Monroe is being used by Sandy Hook School students until a new Sandy Hook School on Dickinson Drive in Sandy Hook is ready for occupancy for the 2016-17 school year.

Newtown police said April 8 that they arrested Rogalski on six charges on the afternoon of April 7 while he was the custody of Monroe police. Newtown police charged Rogalski with four counts of second-degree harassment, one count of refusal to be fingerprinted, and one count of interfering with police.

Newtown police said Rogalski had placed harassing telephone calls to Hawley School, Newtown Middle School, the Board of Education offices, and a local business. Those harassing telephone calls concerned the 12/14 shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School, police said.

Rogalski is scheduled to appear on April 28 in Danbury Superior Court to be arraigned on the six charges filed by Newtown police.

At the April 7 Board of Education meeting, Superintendent of Schools Joseph V. Erardi, Jr, said he is thankful to Monroe and Newtown police for their efforts earlier that day.

Dr Erardi said the situation required “no immediate action needing to take place in regards to a lock-in closed, lock-in open, or lockdown” at the schools.

“But [there was] clearly extraordinarily inappropriate conversation, and through the real fine work of the Monroe Police Department, in partnership with our local police station and police officers, I’m pleased to share with you the perpetrator of those calls was arrested by midafternoon,” the superintendent told school board members.

(With additional reporting by Eliza Hallabeck.)