Mike DiMauro: How long must Crystal Caldwell wait for justice?
Jul. 27—NEW LONDON — Patience is bitter, a famous quote goes, but the fruit is sweet. This is all Crystal Caldwell has right now as the justice system moves with the urgency of an arthritic snail, nobody there caring much about the atrocity befalling her June 26, 2020.
Caldwell's nightmares recur from this recurring nightmare, no real end in sight, now more than three years since she was brutally assaulted while working as the desk clerk at the Quality Inn in Stonington.
It will be two years this November since the criminal trial reached a courtroom.
"We've been told several different stories," said Caldwell, among the most accomplished female athletes in New London High's history. "Because of COVID, the courts were backed up. But now we're seeing cases that are coming up that came after me. But remember, this is the state of Connecticut that's going against them, not myself."
It is the state's case because the state had to extradite Philip Sarner and Emily Orbay from New York in July, 2020, after they were caught on hotel surveillance video beating Caldwell mercilessly. Their behavior offends every morsel of human decency. Its residual effects linger for Caldwell mentally, physically and emotionally.
"Physically," Caldwell said, "I'm still being treated for the concussion. I'm at Gaylord (Rehabilitation Center in Wallingford) now. I have a vestibular (balance) problem from the kicks and the punches I took in the head. I still have PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) and they're doing EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) with me. I'm having trouble with long term memory. I've had steroid injections in my head for headaches. I had surgery on my hand."
To reiterate: Sarner, a man in his 30s and Orbay, a woman in her 20s (at the time) physically assaulted a 60-year-old woman three years ago. It's on video. Neither is in jail.
"I wake up and I look out the window for him," Caldwell said, alluding to Sarner. "Because I'm on a dead end, I put security cameras in the front and back of my house. He's still in my mind heavily. I'm too old to get kicked and punched. I wake up a lot in the middle of the night because I can still see the bottom of his shoe coming down on me ready to step on my face."
To reiterate: A man in his 30s and a woman in her 20s physically assaulted a 60-year-old woman three years ago. It's on video. Neither is in jail.
"If Crystal didn't have the athletic background she has," longtime friend and supporter Wayne Rawls said, "I'm not sure she'd have made it."
Caldwell, a 1979 New London High graduate, won the state's high hurdles and long jump championship as a senior.
"When I worked in security at EB, we had to do MOAB training (principles, techniques, and skills for managing violent and aggressive behavior)," Caldwell said. "Part of that is learning how to defend yourself against people who are bigger than you. That and my athletic ability from my high school days definitely helped. (Orbay) was punching me from behind and they're both taller than me. They were punching down on my head."
And neither are in jail. Perhaps this is the time to note that Sarner was also charged with harassing Caldwell's attorney, John Strafaci, two months after the attack.
The state offered six years for Sarner and three years' probation. It offered Orbay four years in jail with two years' probation. They rejected the offer with the help of attorney Norm Pattis, the man who represented Alex Jones, who said publicly that the Sandy Hook shootings of 2012 were staged as a pretext for confiscating guns, that the grieving parents were actors and that the massacre was faked.
You may perhaps inquire what kind of mammal would represent such a cretin. The same mammal who would represent Mr. Sarner and Ms. Orbay.
Sarner and Orbay did manage to file a civil lawsuit in federal court in 2021 against Caldwell, her son, Jamel, and the parent company of the inn, bringing forth accusations that included how the racial element of the attack was a hoax. (Creatures of their ilk are rather fond of the word "hoax," it appears).
In Sept. 2022, United States District Judge Jeffrey Alker Meyer denied most of their claims, although there are enough remaining from each side to continue a civil trial.
It is unclear as to why the criminal trial is in gridlock, other than typical justice system malaise. Or there's this: Pattis was suspended from practicing law in Connecticut for six months in January after a judge found he improperly disclosed sensitive medical information about families of Sandy Hook school shooting victims.
"We cannot expect our system of justice or our attorneys to be perfect, but we can expect fundamental fairness and decency," Judge Barbara Bellis wrote in her decision. "There was no fairness or decency in the treatment of the plaintiffs' most sensitive and personal information, and no excuse for the respondent's misconduct."
Pattis appealed the decision because he was representing two men at the time involved in the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol. Say this much for Pattis: He's consistent with his choice of clients.
And so here is our justice system in all its glory: The 60-year-old victim undergoes medical treatment and endures the daily frustration of not knowing when, if or how the perpetrators — caught on tape — will ever be brought to justice. Three years later. Two years since court. For behavior that was egregious and outrageous.
"Sen. Blumenthal and Mr. Tong (attorney general William Tong) were all a great part of helping to get them extradited from New York," Caldwell said. "Maybe they can help again. This is going on three years. It's seeming like forever. It's torture. The longer it takes, the less people remember."
This is the opinion of Day sports columnist Mike DiMauro
