ROCHESTER, N.H. (AP) – A Maine man has been released on bail after being charged with leaving his two young children out in zero-degree temperatures in New Hampshire.

Troid Patch of Berwick was in court Monday morning. He pleaded not guilty to two charges of endangering the welfare of a child.

Police said Patch dropped his 9- and 6-year-old children off at his father-in-law’s home in Rochester a month ago. Police say the father-in-law wasn’t home, and the children were left outside in freezing weather for least a half-hour.

Patch has said it was a mistake to leave his children alone outside the house, but not neglect.

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Information from: WMUR-TV, http://wmur.com

AP-ES-02-26-07 1432EST