NORWALK — An Officer has been fired after being suspended over felony counts of second-degree sexual assault and risk of injury to a minor.
Officer Antony Santo’s best friend had a daughter whom Officer Santo was reported to have sexually assaulted.
The assault occurred when the daughter was just 13-yrs-old, according to reports.
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The daughter reported that Officer Santo took his hands and began putting them up her pants.
As he moved his hands up her pants, he then began touching her sexually, according to reports.
The incident started when she had been wearing pajamas and sitting on a couch in her living room.
Officer Santo, a grown man, began “talking to” the 13-yr-old child about masturbation and other sexual topics, during the course of which he began groping her, according to reports.
It wasn’t until the age of 20 that the girl was able to confide in her boyfriend what had happened.
The boyfriend reported the sexual assault and Officer Santo was subsequently suspended pending the results of trials.
However, the girl suffered from severe emotional problems and was too terrified to testify against Officer Santo.
She suffered from panic attacks at the thought of going to a trial with the Officer there, according to reports.
“It is not the state’s habit to force sex assault victims to testify, especially one that is so upset,” Maureen Ornowsky, a prosecutor, said.\
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The result was a mistrial and the charges against Officer Santo were dropped.
Although he was cleared from the sexual abuse of a 13-yr-old girl, the department recently fired him for violations pertaining to conformance to laws, incompetence, and unbecoming conduct.