Court Docs Claim Father Of Missing NH Girl Admitted To Assault

MANCHESTER, NH — Manchester police arrested Adam Montgomery, 31, of Manchester on Tuesday for charges brought forward during an investigation of a missing 7-year-old girl, Harmony Montgomery, his daughter.

Adam Montgomery was scheduled for arraignment on Wednesday via WebEx in Hillsborough County Superior Court. The arraignment was moved to be in person at noon and then his appearance in court was canceled. According to the court clerk, an agreement on bail terms was made between the prosecution and defense attorneys.

Court documents show Adam Montgomery was ordered held on preventative detention. Terms of the bail made Adam Montgomery sign a waiver of extradition and to have no contact with Crystal Sorey or Kayla Mongomery.

Adam Montgomery, who is listed as homeless on the court paperwork, charged with a Class B felony charge of second-degree assault which court paperwork says occurred between July 1 and July 22, 2019.

He also is accused of two misdemeanor charges interference with child custody; and endangering the welfare of a child.

Several details are outlined in a five-page affidavit and list the involvement of several family members and DCYF agencies in the investigation.

On Nov. 18, 2021, Manchester Police received a call from a woman determined to be Crystal Sorey regarding her daughter, Harmony. Sorey reported to police that Harmony was in the physical custody of her ex, who she identified as Adam Michael Montgomery. Police contacted DCYF and learned of previous addresses associated with Adam Montgomery. Police checked those addresses and were unable to either of them.

On Dec. 27, 2021, DCYF notified Manchester police they were unable to locate the girl and police initiated an investigation.

During their investigation, police learned Harmony had not physically been seen since October or November 2019. The child's biological mother, Sorey, who resides in Massachusetts, notified authorities that she had not seen the child since around Easter 2019. The child had been in the physical and legal custody of her biological father.

Detectives learned, according to the court paperwork, that both Adam Montgomery and Sorey had past issues with substance abuse. Sorey told police she had lost custody of the child in July 2018 to the state of Massachusetts in part due to substance abuse.

"(Sorey) had regained sobriety and unsuccessfully made attempts throughout 2021 to make contact with Adam or Harmony," the report said.

Paperwork indicates Sorey last saw Harmony during a Facetime video call with her daughter around Easter 2019. Sorey stated Adam Montgomery was visible in the background of the video call. Sorey recalled that Harmony seemed frightened and believed that is the last time she actually saw her daughter.

Manchester police made attempts to locate Adam Montgomery and to talk to involved family members. Relatives in Florida, as well as New England, were contacted.

According to the court paperwork, a detective was able to make contact with Adam Montgomery's brother. He raised concerns about Harmony’s welfare and recalled during the last physical contact with Harmony and Adam Montgomery, he was “super short” with the child. He learned through other family members Adam Montgomery had given Harmony a black eye.

The court paperwork continues to outline an interview with Adam Montgomery’s uncle. He told detectives that he had not seen Adam Montgomery or Harmony since late 2019. He had first-hand knowledge of the child’s eye injury from 2019. He said that he had returned to Manchester from a trip to Florida and observed Harmony with a black eye. He notified DCYF of the injury.

Additional information on this part of the court document was redacted.

In an interview outlined in the court paperwork, the uncle told the detective he had asked Adam Montgomery how the injury occurred. Adam Montgomery told him he had caused the injury to Harmony.

“I bashed her around this house,” he said in the affidavit.

Adam Montgomery explained to him that he had left Harmony, who was 5 at the time, in charge of watching her infant brother while Adam Montgomery was in the bathroom, the report stated. The younger child started crying during that time. Adam Montgomery told him he found Harmony holding her hand over the child's mouth to stop him from crying, the affidavit said.

The paperwork goes on to say Adam Montgomery told his uncle he responded by striking Harmony in the face causing the black eye, according to the court report. He told detectives he believed Adam Montgomery had relapsed on drugs and recalled other forms of abusive discipline.

On Dec. 31, a detective spoke to Adam Montgomery's wife, Kayla Montgomery. She, according to court documents, shares three younger children with Adam Montgomery. Those children are all presently accounted for.

Kayla went on to say that in November or December 2019, she saw Harmony one morning before going to work. Adam Montgomery said he was driving Harmony to Sorey, who was living in Lowell, Massachusetts. She told detectives she believed Harmony was returned to Sorey and never saw her again after that date. Sorey confirmed for the detective had seen Harmony with a black eye — but Adam Montgomery told her it was from striking one of the other children’s toys, the report stated. She has not seen Adam Montgomery since late October 2021, and had not spoken to him since around November 2021. She claimed Adam Montgomery was living in a sober house, and had left the area to live in Maine with another woman.

On Dec. 31, detectives were able to make contact with Adam Montgomery and his new girlfriend, who were sleeping together in a vehicle on Harvell Street, according to the affidavit.

The woman told detectives she had been romantically involved with Adam Montgomery for more than a year. She said she was aware that Adam had three children from one mother and one from another while saying he was not in touch with any children. She also claimed Adam never talked about Harmony, the report stated.

In an interview, Adam Montgomery told a detective that Harmony was fine and had seen her somewhat recently, an affidavit said. As the conversation continued, Adam Montgomery said he had “not seen Harmony since Crystal came to pick her up in Manchester around Thanksgiving in 2019."

The paperwork stated police told Adam Montgomery their primary concern was locating Harmony. He told the police, “I have nothing else to say,” according to the report. Detectives wrote Adam Montgomery did not exhibit much emotion or reaction. He said he believed Harmony was with her mother in Massachusetts, the report said. He then again repeated, “I have nothing else to say,” and, “If I am not under arrest I am leaving.”

Several items on the court affidavit labeled #20 and #21 are redacted and unavailable.

In item #22 the document states “Due to the above facts and circumstances I believe probable cause exists that Adam Montgomery committed second-degree assault, RSA 631:2 on or between July 1, 2019, and July 22, 2019, in that he knowingly caused bodily injury to “H.M.,” a child under the age of 13, by striking her in the face.

In item #23 additionally based on the facts and circumstances as described above, I believe probable cause exists that Adam Montgomery committed the crime of endangering the welfare of a child from approximately November 2019 and January 4, 2022.

Additional information from court documents will be added in this Patch article as the documents are reviewed and made available.