From the very first day’s an effort against a Norwalk police officer accused of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old woman, the alleged victim, now 20, took the witness stand and told the jury Anthony Santo stuck his hand down her jeans and touched her intimately while her dad and cousin had been resting close to them.
Santo seemed on without feeling due to the fact girl described the event at state Superior Court in Stamford. Santo had been an 18-year person in the Norwalk Police Department before October of 2009 as he was arrested on costs of second-degree intimate attack and danger of problems for a young child. He’s got been on unpaid leave that is administrative their arrest.
The alleged victim stated Santo ended up being a friend that is close of household and spent considerable time at their property in Greenwich. The girl said she could inform Santo things she could maybe perhaps not discuss along with her “strict moms and dads” and described Santo as her “second daddy. “
The girl had been struggling to identify the date that is exact of attack, but stated she ended up being about 13 during the time. The witness stated she was at her pajamas sitting for a settee inside her family area together with two might have been speaing frankly about masturbation or becoming groped by another child whenever Santo touched her. The lady said there might have been an electrical outage that and her father and brother may have been sleeping on a mattress in the living room when the incident took place night.
The lady stated she would not tell anybody in regards to the event until belated 2007, whenever she told her boyfriend.
At that time, your ex stated she had been therefore young she would not realize something bad had happened, she immediately ran to the bathroom to collect herself although she said.
“I didn’t know very well what was taking place, I didn’t understand the emotions I happened to be that is having don’t understand it absolutely was incorrect. I did not know any single thing, ” she stated.
Right before your ex and Santo had been to just simply take a vacation together to Florida to check out a family member of Santo’s in July 2009, the boyfriend called authorities and reported the intimate attack she described to him a lot more than per year over at this website earlier in the day.
Santo, who may have remained free on $25,000 relationship since their arrest, would sporadically lean in to speak with their lawyer, Gary Mastronardi, during the roughly 90 mins of testimony the lady provided each morning.
Moments after Mastronardi started their cross assessment, the lady started to cry after she made the allegation against Santo, a close friend as she was asked in a stern tone why her father was angry with her.
“He was upset with you because he failed to believe you. He did not think your tale, ” Mastronardi stated.
Judge Richard Comerford then offered the lady several mins to write by by herself before continuing.
Whenever Mastronardi started once more, he asked to really have the exact same concern duplicated, but an objection up to a follow-up led Comerford to clear the jury through the courtroom.
Right before meal, Mastronardi outlined their strategy during a disagreement with senior Assistant State’s Attorney Maureen Ornousky about how exactly far in to the woman’s dating back ground he could be in a position to get while protecting Santo.
Mastronardi stated he wished to call witnesses to buttress their theory that the lady had made up the story concerning the assault that is sexual make her boyfriend jealous.
“My place is she managed to get up. I am maybe maybe not trying to soil her reputation, ” stated Mastronardi, adding that by participating in this bid for envy, she dragged an innocent individual right into a charge that is criminal.
Mastronardi stated while wanting to warn law enforcement from the situation, perhaps the woman’s daddy said the jealous boyfriend “plugged Tony Santo involved with it. “
Mastronardi stated your ex had composed another severe allegation that is sexual another individual, but authorities opted for not to ever prosecute the so-called perpetrator of the intimate attack as the story was so bizarre it may never be thought.
More witnesses will likely be called in the event likely to take the rest of the week to choose.