It was 530 days from the time that Anthony Fasano attacked me until I heard him say he was sorry. I’m not surprised to hear the words, because they were only a part of his attempt to be paroled. And they only came after I was allowed to speak. And after I pointed out that since the attack on July 4th 2019, he has never once said he was sorry. He has never once taken full responsibility.
The parole board had asked him about his victims, before I spoke. During that time, he talked about himself. His kids not seeing him. Yet, he never once mentioned me or my mother. I knew he wouldn’t.
See just a week before, under oath, Anthony testified in a civil court that I had attacked him. That I was the aggressor. He claimed that the attack didn’t happen in front of his children. The problem with this is that Anthony Fasano plead guilty to attacking me. He plead guilty to child endangerment, because it happened in front of his kids. In fact, the baby was right behind me on the ground when I was attacked. Mind you, there was never even a hint at charging me, because I was the victim.
I was ready. I knew exactly what I wanted to say. And then I heard him testify at the parole hearing. The first shock was that he’s leaving prison to move in with his significant other. At that time he was still married to my little sister. To be clear, I don’t care he’s moving on, though woman to woman and for her sake, I pray she reads these blogs and understands that we’re not these evil people making up stories.The proof is in his own texts and criminal records. I did hurt for my sister. She’s been through enough. Even though she’s done, it’s never fun to hear that your husband has a significant other. Especially since he’s the one that kept continuing or trying to continue their hearings to get divorced. And as with most siblings you always want to protect them.
I was also irritated because April 2020 Anthony’s sister Laura Fasano ranted on my facebook about how unmoral and unethical my family is. Here’s a video of her messages if you want to see her words. And she went on and on about how better they are as Catholics than we are. And yet, this is the second marriage Anthony is leaving while dating another person. This doesn’t have much relevance, except I have a personal dislike for hypocrisy so it didn’t set well with me. And it shows what victims have to deal with…
However, it also shows his ability to spin stories. Twice they asked him about his living situation and referred to her as his significant other. Later when he was asked by the parole board very directly if he was moving in with his girlfriend he answered very confusingly as if it’s a just a friend or maybe not? I won’t pretend to care to know. And it’s not my business. I pray to god he’s moved on and will stop harassing my sister, though I also hope it isn’t going to happen to someone else. But, it’s just another example of his stories and lies.
Here this man is asking the parole board to believe he’s a changed man. And then he’s lying. About something so simple. Why? Part of me is scared to death. Scared that it means he’s still trying to get to my sister. It was like he was saying he was moving on, but then when asked directly to say it he wouldn’t. It didn’t make her jealous, if that is what he is looking for. At one point he also discussed that he was going to cut certain people out of his life. That’s one of the promises, word for word, he made to get my sister back the first time. It makes you wonder, do these people know that he’s saying he’s going to cut them out of their lives? Still? Just this month? Again, red flags that scare me for the future. It scares me to think that he’s still playing games. Honestly at this point, own what you did.
And then he went on to twist my words. See in the civil divorce court I testified that I hoped the day would come that we could go to my nephews soccer game or graduation and Anthony would be able to be in attendance without threatening to kill me. He used that in the beginning of his statement to say that his sister in law hopes one day to be at his son’s soccer game with him. I about puked. First off, sister in law? Since then the divorce has been granted and he’ll never be able to call me that again as he moves in with his “significant other” or “long time friend” depending on who he’s talking to…
That twisting of words. Whew. Red flags, ladies and gentlemen. Red flags. And maybe it would have been believable, if I hadn’t shown up to the parole hearing armed with his own words. Words I don’t have to twist. I just read aloud, unedited. That ability to make people believe that he’s changed. I’ll give it to him. Most people will believe it. Which makes it so dangerous
I had almost canceled attending the parole hearing. See, his sentence will discharge on 1/30/2021. On that date he will walk out with no probation. He has an active warrant out for his arrest in Omaha, but as misdemeanors they won’t do anything unless he’s stopped for something else. That warrant, I believe, is also for no contact violations. But in our system, they don’t matter. The jail was recommending an immediate release. So at some point, I thought, what was the point?
I honestly didn’t think it would matter. I didn’t feel like our voices would be heard. But I did show up. I heard the same story from him. Including the excuse that he drank too much coffee. Yes, one of the excuses for death threats included too much coffee. I can’t. I just can’t even handle that one.
And I have to say. Speaking up felt good. Having our voices heard feels good. Maybe it’s because the board listened and made the decision to deny parole. Thus he will be kept in jail for the remainder of his sentence. This might seem cold. But it gives us time to prepare because I don’t buy his changes. I do think my life is still in danger. I fear this man.
And after I spoke. My mom spoke, because his second assault charge was against her. And my sister spoke. Then he was allowed to speak again. And that is the FIRST TIME I heard him say he was sorry for what he did to me. 530 days. Do I believe it? No. The only thing I could think was, how sad is it that’s he’s only saying it for the parole board? As I read in my statement. This is a man who entered a letter to court from his friend, Amber Victorson, who stated I made up my injury and that he only plead guilty because of money. His sister, Laura Fasano, wrote on my Facebook that he only plead guilty to get my sister back and stay married to her. He’s more than willing to try to lie or have his support team lie for him when he can. When he was asked about his victims, he never once named me, my mother, or my sisters. The people he’s hurt the most.
Because in reality, he doesn’t see me as his victim. He sees himself as a victim. It’s honestly both pathetic and scary as hell. I don’t believe he’s changed. Which means the death threats probably have not stopped. Writing this very blog increases my danger.
And some are probably wondering why? And it’s because I can speak up. I have an amazing family around me and we take so many steps to be safe. We have the ability to afford security cameras, gates around our property, and other security methods that can’t be mentioned for our own safety. Yet, so many other people cannot do this. So many others don’t have support. They don’t have the financial means to be safe.
There is legit no help when you walk into a parole hearing. My victim advocate was amazing and kind, but they don’t tell you how or what to write in that statement. The statement that bought us a few days to prepare for his release. They don’t tell you what to include or not include. You are on your own. They give a few tips, but that’s it.
And it’s a part of the system that needs to change. Victims need help. They need more support. They need people who have been through the process and can help them navigate. They need reassurance. I don’t know what it looks like exactly, but it’s something I’m still working on.
Please, if you’ve been a victim. Reach out. Let’s talk about your experience and what would have helped. I want to put together the resources to help others.
And, if you want to read how I made my statement follow along. I will be releasing what I said. One of the reasons I will release it is to help others when they need to write one and two, Anthony Fasano broke court rules and recorded my original victim impact statement. It creeps me out to know when I was in an emotional state he recorded and played my statement back to people. However, if he wants it to be public, let’s do it. I’ll be adding my victim impact statement later. Because I’m okay with everything I said being public. I know from the death threats that he’s not okay with me making these public. But if it helps one person, write their statement, it’s worth it.
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