Region: Warrants still sealed in sexual assault case of former NFA coach
One-week extension granted on seals of search warrants
Three search warrants issued in the criminal case of former Norwich Free Academy assistant football and track coach Anthony Facchini will continue to be sealed as Norwich police investigate alleged sexual assaults of two minors.
New London Superior Court Judge Hillary Strackbein granted Tuesday a one-week extension of the seals on motions by state’s attorneys.
Facchini, 25, of 210 Broadway, Norwich, was charged Sept. 12 with two counts of second-degree sexual assault for allegedly having sexual relations with two minor students at NFA while he was assistant coach at the school starting in 2017. Also on Sept. 12, Norwich police, with assistance from the FBI Computer Analysis Response Team and the state police Computer Crimes Unit, executed a search and seizure warrant on the NFA campus.
State law prohibits sexual relationships between school employees and students.
While the search warrants remain sealed, attorney Jason Burdick, who represents the family of one of the two alleged student victims, said his own investigation “leads us to believe that NFA employees and staff had knowledge of the first sexual assault in 2017.”
Burdick declined to elaborate on his information, saying the school did not provide any written information dated prior to June 8, when a different coach first heard of Facchini’s alleged relations with students.
“Like everybody else, we’re investigating it, and we’ll get to the bottom of it,” Burdick said.
Burdick said he was provided a timeline of NFA’s response to the allegations starting on June 8.
“Based on all the information shared with NFA by the Norwich Police Department and DCF, NFA has not been given any reason to believe that Facchini and (blacked out name) ever engaged in sexual conduct on NFA’s campus,” NFA attorney Kyle McClain wrote to Burdick. “Based on the information NFA has been provided, any sexual conduct occurred off campus and outside school hours.”
Burdick on Tuesday called that statement “irrelevant,” since Facchini was an active coach at NFA at the time, and an alleged sexual relationship with a student is prohibited by state law. Burdick also said NFA’s own student policy gives the school jurisdiction to hold students accountable for actions off campus.
“So I don’t see where that’s relevant,” Burdick said.
Continuing investigation
“As this is an ongoing police investigation, NFA has no comments on this matter,” NFA spokesman Geoff Serra said in a written statement Tuesday.
Search warrants for Facchini’s cellphone and Apple iPad, for computer equipment on the NFA campus and for the arrest warrant for Facchini all have been sealed. During Facchini’s last court appearance Sept. 21, Strackbein continued the warrant seals for 45 days.
State’s Attorney Michael Regan filed a motion Oct. 12 requesting the seal of the Oct. 1 warrant for Facchini’s cellphone and iPad be extended “until further order of the court,” because the warrant is part of a continuing investigation “which would be adversely affected by the disclosure of information contained in the affidavit.”
Strackbein said Tuesday she had “several motions” to keep the warrants sealed. But since neither Regan nor Assistant State’s Attorney Theresa Anne Ferryman, who is prosecuting the case, were in court Tuesday, Strackbein said she would extend the case to Oct. 30.
“There is an ongoing investigation going on in this case,” Strackbein said.
Facchini and his attorneys, Michael Blanchard and Bryan Fiengo from the Suisman Shapiro law firm, also were not in court Tuesday.
NFA’s timeline
Burdick said Tuesday he received information from NFA attorney McClain outlining NFA’s timeline of when NFA officials learned of the claims against Facchini and its response.
According to that information, Burdick said, on Friday, June 8, an NFA assistant coach — whose name was redacted — heard at a social gathering that Facchini might have been involved in a relationship with a student. The next day, the spring track team, for which Facchini was an assistant coach, ended for the season. No new contractual agreements for Facchini were in place for future assignments at the time.
On Monday, June 10, the mandatory reporter assistant coach filed an oral report to DCF, prompting the state agency to contact Norwich police. Norwich police then contacted NFA Director of Campus Safety Kevin Rodino and started the criminal investigation.
On June 11, the coach who filed the oral report followed up, as required in state law, with a written mandatory report to DCF. The Day received a copy of that report separately through an FOI request to NFA.
Also on Monday, June 11, Rodino met with Head of School David Klein, Director of Student Affairs John Iovino and then-Athletic Director Eric Swallow in Klein’s office. Rodino was directed to start an investigation and meet with the coach who first reported the allegations and with the family and to contact Facchini and tell him he was banned from campus.
Prior to Rodino’s meeting June 11 with the reporting coach, a DCF worker contacted Rodino. Rodino then met again with Klein, Iovino and Swallow and contacted DCF.
That same day, Norwich police met with Rodino on campus and police requested that NFA not meet with Facchini while the police investigation was still ongoing. DCF also requested that NFA not contact the victim’s family while the DCF investigation was ongoing.
NFA told Burdick the school agreed to those requests.
On July 3, Norwich police gave the school an informal update on the criminal investigation in Klein’s office. On July 10 and 11, Swallow attempted to contact Facchini by telephone to inform him of Swallow’s recommendation that he be terminated from his assistant coaching positions.
Klein sent a certified letter to Facchini July 12 terminating Facchini and a second letter on Aug. 8 after the first letter was returned.
Swallow resigned Sept. 10, but NFA officials have not confirmed whether the move was connected to the investigation. Police arrested Facchini on Sept. 12, the same day police, FBI and state investigators executed the search and seizure warrant on campus.