Adam Montgomery, 31, current address unknown, recently of Manchester

MANCHESTER — Superior Court Judge Amy Messer met with prosecutors and defense counsel in court earlier this week for a dispositional conference in the case of Adam Montgomery.

The discussion soon turned to finding a mutually agreeable date on which to hold another dispositional conference, and eventually the parties settled on Tuesday, June 28.

Montgomery is one of two defendants facing charges involving Harmony Montgomery, the 7-year-old Manchester girl whose missing persons case has triggered investigations into child protective services agencies in New Hampshire and Massachusetts and attracted attention across the nation.

Neither Adam Montgomery, who is Harmony’s biological father, or Kayla Montgomery, Adam’s wife, have been charged with any offenses directly implicating them in the girl’s disappearance.

Adam Montgomery, who was arrested Jan. 4 after Manchester police found him sleeping in a vehicle with a then-girlfriend, is charged with four offenses that include one count of second-degree assault, a Class B felony; two counts of endangering the welfare of a child, Class A misdemeanors; and one count of interference with custody, also a Class A misdemeanor.

The assault charge accuses Montgomery of causing bodily injury to Harmony by striking her in the face — which caused a black eye — between July 1 and July 22, 2019.

The two endangering charges accuse Montgomery of failing to have Harmony in his physical custody since November 2019, while he had legal custody of her; and allegedly preventing Division of Children, Youth and Families representatives from obtaining physical custody of Harmony.

The interference charge accuses Montgomery of concealing Harmony from DCYF officials and refusing to provide police with information leading to her whereabouts, according to the charging documents.

Kayla Montgomery, meanwhile, was taken into custody Jan. 22 and charged with one count of prohibited acts — welfare fraud, a Class A felony that accuses her of making false reports to state DHHS officials.

She has since been charged with three additional offenses: one count of theft by deception, a Class A felony; and two counts of public welfare — prohibited acts, Class A misdemeanors.

Her next court date is a dispositional conference scheduled for April 7.

According to police reports, Kayla told the DHHS that Harmony came to live with her and Adam Montgomery in February 2019, which increased the Montgomery family’s welfare benefits account by $129 per month.

The Montgomerys continued receiving that additional $129 per month through June 2021, police said — even though Harmony was not living with Adam and Kayla.

Harmony’s case, meanwhile, has prompted a back-and-forth between Gov. Chris Sununu and Massachusetts child protective agency officials.

A report on how New Hampshire and Massachusetts officials handled Harmony’s case, and the investigation into Harmony’s disappearance, was released earlier this month at Sununu’s urging, which led state child-welfare officials to raise concerns over whether some of the report’s contents may have violated privacy laws.

Dean Shalhoup may be reached at 594-1256 or dshalhoup@nashuatelegraph.com.