seemed like a good idea at the time

A Shelton man has been arrested, accused of paying a teenager $20 to fight a younger girl he believed was bullying his daughter, according to police.

Police said their investigation showed that Phillip Prokop, 42, paid a 17-year-old girl to fight a 13-year-old girl at shopping center on May 26.

He was arrested hours after the fight and released on a $10,000 bond.

Prokop said in an interview on Friday that the charges are absurd and that he actually tried to break up the fight.

He said he went to meet the girls that day to tell them to stop bullying his 15-year-old daughter.

The parents of both 13-year-old girls refused medical attention for their daughters while they were at the scene.

Prokop was charged with inciting injury to a person, risk of injury to a minor and conspiracy to commit third-degree assault.

He was released on a $10,000 bond and is due to appear in Derby Superior Court on Monday.