RUMFORD – A Rumford man with a Taser prong in his leg eluded police for hours before turning himself in Friday, police said.

But new charges of domestic assault, obstructing the report of a crime or injury, and escape, which were levied Friday against Corey Child, 34, will have to wait until next March. That’s when he’s expected to be released from the Maine State Prison’s maximum-security complex, according to his probation officer, Michael Downs.

After serving eight years of a 10-year prison sentence for his role in a Paris home invasion in the 1990s, Child, because of good behavior, was allowed to leave prison under the condition of confinement to his home for a year. He had been home for 5 months, Downs said.

At 10:30 p.m. Thursday, a babysitter at the Child home called 911, reporting that Child had assaulted his wife during a domestic dispute, Rumford police Sgt. David Bean said Friday.

After interviewing the victim and a witness, and contacting Downs, Bean said police learned that Child had been drinking alcohol before he assaulted his wife, then left the house, all in violation of his probation.

Police learned Child had gone to Peru, and sought help of Oxford County authorities, who sent Deputy George Cayer, a former Rumford officer, to find Child.

Bean said that at 11:29 p.m. Thursday, Cayer found an intoxicated, barefoot man in Peru with no identification, who gave his name as Ernest Child. However, after obtaining descriptive information, Cayer realized he had Corey Child and moved to arrest him.

“As Deputy Cayer was placing cuffs on Child, he broke away and ran, and (Cayer) ran after him and attempted to Tase him, but only one prong made contact and Cayer soon lost sight of him,” Bean said.

To temporarily paralyze someone with a Taser, both prongs have to make contact to generate the powerful electrical charge that causes muscles to seize.

Bean said the prongs resemble a No. 8 fishing hook straightened out, but with a tiny barb on the end. The prong broke off in Child’s leg.

“It’s like a fine needle. It’s not big enough to cause serious injury,” he added.

Rumford officers who had sought county police assistance then answered the deputy’s call for help, along with Chief Stacy Carter, Detective Lt. Mark Cayer (no relation to Deputy Cayer), another patrolman and a Maine State Trooper. A Franklin County sheriff’s deputy and tracking dog soon joined the search.

Late Friday morning, while police and Downs were back at the Penobscot Street home, Child called his wife at 9:30 a.m. to apologize, Downs said. Caller ID revealed he was inside an apartment across the street. But Child had fled by the time police got there.

He called his wife a second time. This time, Downs got on the phone and convinced Child to turn himself in, which he did at 11 a.m. at the Rumford police station.

Child was booked and taken to Oxford County Jail in Paris to await transfer to the state prison.

“He’s no choir boy. He does have a criminal history, but (Thursday) was his first history of domestic violence to my knowledge. To my knowledge, this was an isolated incident, but that’s what alcohol does to people,” Downs said.