S26 Ep4: So Help You God

If you love something was wrong and want to help support the show, become a community contributor on Apple Podcasts or purchase a sticker from our sticker shop at brokencyclemedia.com. Thank you so much. Something was wrong is intended for mature audiences and includes topics that may be upsetting. This season we'll be discussing friendship, a trail, religious abuse, stalking, sexual assault, and other serious topics, so please listen with care. Some names have been changed for safety or anonymity purposes. The podcast and any linked materials should not be misconstrued as a substitution for legal or medical advice. Places and resources can be found in the episode notes, thank you so much for listening. Last time on something was wrong. What's going to happen? He's likely going to be placed under arrest for breaking and entering with intent to give him a mismeanor and stalking, because this is the second night that it's happened. Because that happened last night and tonight. So this is two nights in a row that he's done this. This victim's advocate told me that the pastor would have a bond hearing. It was going to be, I think, on Wednesday. So he was arrested on Saturday. Those days he was in jail, I was able to sleep. I was notified the day after the bond hearing that he was released when I met with prosecutor. He explained that Sergio might not be convicted or probably wouldn't. Whatever he said, I was so shocked. The trial was initially scheduled for August. This would have been August of 2024. Yes. We had waited all these months and finally two weeks before the trial. I contacted the victim's advocate and I'm like, can we schedule to meet with the prosecutor so that I can be prepared? I had asked the prosecutor a couple of times if Sergio had any witnesses, had any evidence. I really believe that he would use someone as a witness, probably to lie. The victim's advocate had called me the week prior about a plea deal and having it reduced again and I said, no. How many proposed pleas do you think there were before you reached court? I would say maybe six. Eventually, the last call I got about a plea deal was the afternoon before the initial date. The victim's advocate had called me again about a plea deal and I was like, is this for real? This time the plea deal was asking that it be reduced to trespassing and no felonies and they would compensate me for changing the lock on my door and that was so insulting as if that was the only financial loss. That's another thing that surprised me through the legal process and through this situation was how this impacted me financially. My income was significantly impacted and wasn't just because I'd take off for court dates. It's the cost of getting more security cameras, purchasing a gun, purchasing a camera for my car, purchasing books that I could read about safety. I spent a lot of money on like door dash and stuff because I couldn't even think straight. The question never left my head why was he in my house? What was he doing how many times has he been here? It impacted me, my focus, my energy, my emotions, but what made it so much worse was how I was treated and the lack of support I got because this was a pastor. I want it heard by the court, by the judge or by the jury and let them decide I really truly believed he would be found guilty. After the preliminary hearing, Sergio was able to choose whether he wanted a jury trial or bench trial, so either a jury or a judge and so he chose a judge. I had a feeling that it was going to change sure enough the day of the trial that morning. The victim's advocate told me that it was continued to march 2025 because he changed his mind and decided to have a jury. That day I actually went out, talked to my neighbor across the street because she was finally summoned as a witness. She told me that she was notified the night before that the trial had been continued and I was confused and just wondered why I wasn't notified. I was so angry because I hadn't even slept. I had stayed up all night because my daughter was on a flight to Spain and I could not sleep without knowing that she landed safely. It really made me feel like I was just worthless. Like they notified me because they legally had to maybe. It didn't feel good but nothing about this process felt good. January 2025, two months before the trial, I was at my house. My daughter had taken the car to work. All the lights in my house were off. It looked like I wasn't home because the lights were off and because my car was gone. All of a sudden the dogs started barking. It was really dark outside. I see as they're barking at the living room window, they're moving their heads so they're definitely watching something or someone and they're barking at them. I had a ring camera that was on my yard so I pull it up and I see a man coming up the walkway to my front door. And I'm like, what is he doing? He has his phone, he's holding it up to his mouth, not his ear, his mouth. It looks like he's on speakerphone and he goes up the front steps but that's where my camera doesn't capture anything on the stairs. I am inside right in front of my door waiting to see if he will not. It doesn't get super cold in Virginia but this was one of the coldest years. So I remember thinking like who's taking the stroll in the neighborhood. There were no cars parked nearby. It just seemed suspicious to me and I couldn't identify him. It was really dark but it didn't look like Sergio. I waited there and for two minutes, there was nothing. No knock. I didn't see the handle trying to be turned or anything. My doors were locked. Then he starts walking away. By the way, when he was approaching my house, he was looking at the yard. He was looking at the house, he was looking around. It was weird to me and as he's walking away from my house, he's doing the same thing. So then I look out my window when he leaves and he walks down the sidewalk. I call my neighbor a couple of houses down. This neighbor had come to me after he saw the news like a month after the break-ins and he was like, "We're not going to have this in our neighborhood. Here's my number. You call me." I called him and he was outside real fast. He didn't see where he went but I know that he crossed over to the other street. I call police. An officer patrols the neighborhood. He uses his light on the top of the cruiser to see if he can see anyone. He stops by my house and he lets me know that he didn't see anyone walking around or anything and wanted to see the video. So I show it to him and he confirms. It definitely looks like he's looking around for something. His phone kept flashing a light which made it even harder to even try to identify who he was. The police officer also finds this suspicious and I told him there was a man that had been stalking me but it didn't look like him. He explained just like other officers have explained to me that it's just challenging to get a stalking charge because of how the law is written. It's like you have to be in fear for your life. Unfortunately, a lot of women don't have that fear until it's too late. I didn't realize the danger my life was in until I saw the video. But I would have never said to police, "I'm afraid this man is going to kill me." I didn't know very much about stalking. The trial was continued to March 2025. This is now my daughter's senior year. The break ins were November 2023. So almost two years. Yeah. March. That's when we're preparing for prom and graduation is approaching and everything. I wish I didn't have something so heavy. On top of all the drama, I called the victim advocate and asked to meet with the prosecutor again to prepare for the trial, two weeks before the actual trial that took place. I didn't get confirmation or any answer that Sergio had evidence. I think the prosecutor might have told me that his wife is going to testify. And I remember thinking, "Of course she is." And what is she going to testify of? Whatever he tells her to. conversation before the trial, the victim's advocate. It gave me a paper sent it by email, I think. And it was just like kind of a rundown of questions that the prosecutor would ask. It wasn't detailed at all, it was basic. So I did a lot of the preparation on my own. Looking at what types of questions would be asked toward a victim from both the prosecutor and the defense attorney. I knew that the defense would try to maybe attack my credibility. That's common in trials and cases. They did, I believe, ask for another plea deal. There were no other conversations, just meeting with the prosecutor just a couple of weeks before the trial. Who accompanied you that day? An advocate got a group of supporters together to support me. The group of supporters that I had with me are not women that I knew very well. My closest friends are out of state. The two friends that I had in town didn't come to the trial. They were supportive in other ways, but I think a lot of people, even if they want to support me, people don't feel comfortable being present in a trial of a pastor of Thomas Road. When I first walked in to the building, Sergio's defense lawyer came out of a room that was right by the doors of the court, so clearly they had a room. The court's victim advocate, she said there were no rooms available. I'm the one with a protective order and there's no privacy or safety. We all stood in the lobby, but very close to the room that Sergio walked into. Sergio's wife glared at me and I kept eye contact even though she looked really, really angry. For some reason, I just felt sadness for her. She so deceived is what I was thinking. I'm very close to this room and Sergio has the ability to walk past me and no one's doing anything about it. So finally, I asked one of the police officers, can you please get a room? I have a protective order and he sounded surprised. He said, I didn't know you had a protective order. You should have told me and I was like, the victim's advocate should have told you, what do you remember about the moment that you walked into the courtroom? I remember being surprised at how little people there were. I was expecting him to have a lot of supporters. There was his dad and his stepmom and then his friend. I think that was it. And then a few people that were there to support me. And then walking all the way across the room was awkward. Having to walk right in front of Sergio and his lawyer to the witness stand. I wasn't super anxious, but I was nervous. I had to identify him when I was on the stand that was just one second. I pointed and that was it. Other than that, I didn't look at him, but it's still a very weird feeling. And it just makes me angry because I've tried so hard to get away from this guy. Even with the court system legal process, he was still able to have physical proximity to me. I couldn't be in the trial. I couldn't hear the other witnesses' testimonies. So I was in a room for hours and would just have to come in the courtroom to testify. What had you hoped the jury would understand from hearing from you on this stand? That they would understand the truth. I was hoping that they would understand that added danger really to what he did and the additional danger because of his position as a pastor. I also was hoping that they would understand the psychological harm and coercive control. And I was also hoping that they would understand the impact of him being in my daughter's bedroom. Whenever I talked about the break-in, I made sure I included he was in my daughter's bedroom. It felt like I was on that stand for hours. If I was to guess, I would say maybe 45 minutes. The defense lawyer was so fast, I would barely get an answer out and he'd challenge my answer. I think the biggest tactic was to show that I was not credible. If my answers were different, but I'm telling the truth, so I would just keep telling the truth. At the preliminary hearing, one thing the defense lawyer had asked me is was he threatening? Did he threaten you when he ran into you around in public? Or was he friendly? And I said, "Yeah, he was friendly." At the trial, he said, "Well, you said that he was friendly." And I'm like, "That's how he presents to people." And so I looked at the jury and I said, "Nice is not a character trait." Just because someone's nice doesn't mean they're not a danger. And also the act of all the things that he did in combination, this didn't happen in a vacuum. The slow and subtle way, he was chipping away at your boundaries to the point where you had to threaten to call the police to get him to leave your house. There's so many things that add to the whole picture. Right, they're trying to portray him. He's not a threat, but he has to be friendly because if he wasn't, I would have seen the danger more clearly. During the trial, Sergio's presence there from the time I arrived to the time I left was very Sergio's centered. Whenever we had breaks and the court wasn't in session, he would be right near the metal detectors joking and laughing with the officers. I couldn't go to the bathroom without passing by him because of where he positioned himself. He dominated that court building. How many days was the trial? It ended up being two days only because it was maybe six o'clock that the jury went back in the room, but before they went back, the judge noted that one of the jurors had to leave by like seven or seven 30, something like that because she had to be somewhere. He told the jurors not to rush, but if they didn't come to a verdict in that hour or hour and a half that they would come back tomorrow. And that's what happened. The judge decided that we would be at court the next morning and then the jury would deliberate. By the time I got to the court building, the victim's advocate with the court had already texted me and said they reached a verdict. It was fast, they were deliberating for maybe 30 minutes. We went into the courtroom and just a couple minutes later, the judge came in and then had the jury come out. I think we were in that courtroom for like 20 minutes. They read the verdict. These 12 jurors decide that he was guilty. I had this huge relief rush over me 'cause unlike they get it, I always believed you'd be found guilty. Ultimately that day, he was found guilty of two felony counts of breaking and entering and one misdemeanor count of stalking. What did it feel like walking away from court after the guilty verdict? I was so tired. It felt confirming. It felt liberating. I felt so validated by the court and by these 12 jurors. He was guilty on all counts. After the court that second day, I went out to lunch with some of the people that were there to support me. And then after that, I went home and I slept. I literally just fell in my bed and I slept for a few hours. When I woke up, I checked my phone and the group of supporters, they had their Facebook messenger group chat and there were like a million messages that I had to catch up to. They had been messaging all this time while I was asleep and not one of them ever asked how I was doing. That's really when it was confirmed to me that this wasn't the support that was helpful for me because all of the messages were about what news to bring it to. They were sharing what news sources they have as if I should depend on them. It was just really exhausting. After the trial, the women that were there to support me gave me a notebook. They all wrote down the testimonies, you know, just took notes for me. I asked these girls that took notes. What did they say as to why he was in my house? And that's when I learned like they never, ever gave a reason as to why he was in my house. It was purely an attack on my character. What the defense said about me and their arguments about me didn't really surprise me, but their actual defense surprised me because there literally wasn't a defense. Their only witness was Sergio's wife who claimed that she found a message on their family Instagram account years ago from me that I'd sent him, which never happened. The one thing that really did surprise me with her testimony, she is describing incidents that never happened, that she's saying, she's a part of, so one is she confronted me in the church in the children's play area. And then she told me that it's best not to come back. That never happened. The verdict was March 2025, the sentencing was October 7 months, but it had been scheduled and then continued the month before the sentencing hearing. I had texted the victim's advocate and I sent letters of support and then I said, "I'm gonna be reading my victim impact statement at court and I'll provide my victim impact statement at that time." I didn't send her mind because I didn't want the defense to have my victim impact statement before the sentencing hearing. When it came time for the sentencing, who was with you that day? So the court victim advocate was there, her supervisor, the private advocate and her husband and a couple of other women, they met me outside the court and we walked in together. The court was 4-9. We were there at 8-45, not a single person was standing outside. No one was going to the bathrooms, no one was waiting in the lobby. As soon as I came into that room, the prosecutor said, "So you're gonna testify today?" And I said, "Testify to what? I got the summons in the mail but I was never informed about it. I don't know why I got a summons to testifying court." I said, "Do you mean read my victim impact statement?" And he said, "Yes." The courtroom was packed. Sergio was sitting at a table in front of the judge's bench with his attorney. Everyone was standing with their backs against the wall, basically shoulder to shoulder, 60-70 people and they all looked similar in the way they dressed and known was interacting with each other. It was quiet, it was so bizarre, I'm like, what did I just walk into? I think maybe one of the reasons there were so many people is for intimidation. The judge, I'm sitting right next to him and he looks at me and he's looking at me intently. He looks very kind and like he wants to hear from me. All right, we're here for the sentencing of Mr. Guardia on two convictions of break of an entering, one of the stalking, Ms. Lomla. You saw the evidence you saw getting in this case, you had shouldn't go to him, I think that's what you saw. Good morning, ma'am. Can I get you to the station? Pull me in. Pull me in. Marie Kalimna. The school, obviously, we're here today for the sentencing of the final part of the case from the jury trial, if you have a few months. Today, the court's going to make a determination and a consequence condition. This has come down to the opportunity for me to ask you about how well happened to you who's shown this as a integrity in your family. So if he could just let Judge Watson know sort of what has been of the outcome of the collateral damage for you and your family. I've suffered financially because of loss of work, loss of wages for court preparations, and symptoms just mentally, I never feel safe. I can't even explain after he broke into my house, I was so paranoid that there were cameras in my house. I was looking all the time for cameras, especially my daughter's bedroom. It wasn't just him breaking into my house that made me suffer some of the consequences. It was knowing that he had been stalking me for so many years. It was knowing that I made drastic decisions like moving, which is so much work and so much money just to get away so he wouldn't know where I was. For him to be able to continue to stalk me and to know where I am, to know where I live, the manipulation using other people to psychologically harm me, to manipulate him breaking into my home. People have said, "I'm glad you're okay and I'm glad it's over and I'm like it's not over." And sure enough, the past two years, I've had to continue to suffer continuously, even though I didn't see him, he was using a lot of people. And the church's response was also a huge impact for them to be so dismissive and to turn the narrative in support of him. I wasn't just up against one person, I was up against an institution. It's powerful and insolation-wide. Which is incredibly hard. Has this experience affected you spiritually? El? Does it back to you? Was the pastor of church a key of everyone? It has. I would say my faith has been strengthened. I cannot enter a church. I would love to raise my kids, you know, in church as I was doing when they were grown up when they were young. And I can't even enter a church anymore because of surgery's actions. He is a very nice guy and he presents us so badly. And so now I have a very, very difficult time trusting any pastor, trusting in the church that has impacted me and my kids. Your daughter was living with him when she was having that time number 23 on how old was she? She was 16 or so. Did this event and then going through the trial at an unpack of her? Absolutely. She had sleepwalkers all the time, all the time. We had kids at our house, I mean like many kids at our house sleeping over. And we were the house that kids always came to. And she never had a sleepover again. We were just wondering if other kids were ever safe in her house. It's devastating to think because if he entered my daughter's bedroom at 11th, we're going to Friday night. I'm thinking has he entered her bedroom before? Was that their kids, their pearls? It was also her senior here, which is supposed to be a special year. And this just overshadowed it. All the court cases and continuances and just might stress over what was going on. She has friends that could have the Hispanic church that Sergio was a pastor at. And she would tell me, I think she heard from those friends, they would tell her that they were concerned for Sergio because he was going to be deported. Because that was the narrative that the church gave. And of course, she didn't want to tell her friends. They didn't know it was her bedroom. But she had to be in these conversations and hear these things where they are sympathizing for Sergio. It just impacted her overall safety. I've never seen her scared and I saw no matter if it's a fear in the past two years. And I've always been concerned about her leaving the house or being at work and now even being at college. I'm still extremely concerned about her safety. Have you made any changes to her life? I saw it because of the summer. Oh yeah, I barely left the house. I don't leave the house as much as I used to. I used to go out of the lot. One reason is because I don't really trust people anymore. Because of the people they've been able to use to gather information and to monitor and to avail. I put more cameras at my house, but surety, more locks changed where my door is, and I'm a lot more cautious about where my kids go who they're with and we didn't put a church anymore stuff like that. Thank you very much. Thank you, ma'am, and this is it. Ms. JVZ, which present the evidence? They have evidence in the form of some letters I show, the support they have, what people will have to test the law in the plot of this word. Lawyer. Lawyer? Are you sure it's your right hand? Peace for the other men to shove in the space for the truth, no truth, nothing but the truth talking about. All right. Come on up, please. My name is Laura Elizabeth Guardian. All right. We test by a trial, too, right? Yes. All right. This is your husband, Sir, you have a wife? Yes. All right. You still have your husband? Yes, he is. Still little? Yes. He lives with me. We met three children. Last couple of years, a lot of old, pretty bad to eat, a little mad. Horrible. Right. He's been open with you. Yes. All the time. Well, Jared, yes. Oh, he's been in his relationship, told he about what he did in. Yes. And at the time he was arrested, he was obviously a pastor, right? Yes. He was working for this organization, which urges. Okay. So when he was arrested, he was fine, right? Yes. He was fine. from both places. - Can you clarify another job? - Yes, after that, he had a little inch of, he never did before in his life. - What did you do with that? - Yeah, old type of contraction work, he had a lot of education, but when you are a fellow and you cannot find jobs, so he had to work on anything. He had been working for a company in the past year, consistently, he was hired by this company and he had been providing key words 80 hours a week. He's the main provider of our house. I worked from time to, but he's the main provider. - So Sergio is around, it's gonna be hard to make into it? - Of course. - Have you guys went on to counseling? - He had been in counseling individually. He would have been counseling together all these times since all this happened. - Oh yeah, it's been a lady in Perma. This has been an nightmare. I'm not gonna minimize what happened at all. We had people of faith in breaking the law. It's a big deal. I'm from another country. Laws over there function very differently, but I have learned through all these, how important is the laws here, but also how big it is to bring them all. So I understand, but I can say that my husband is not the same person. I can never, never saw him so break like he's now. I'm not a stupid, I'm not an idiot. I will find another options. I have things that I can end this marriage, but I will not ever, because I know who he is. And he's a great father, and he's a good man. He made a big mistake, but he's a good man on his score. And I see his repentance, not for his words, but through the things that he did for our family, providing, just talking openly to our children to what happened, and every day value that. - So the protective war has been a waste. Since this all happened, right? I need the instances of him raining. - No, nothing. He doesn't have any records before. He didn't get closer, nothing. - There's no weapons in the house, so guns, not men. - No, there's no guns in my house. - And then the people who's a small family here, right? - My parents, I hear my mother-in-law, father-in-law, friends. - So those people in his life, and I'm around them when I support him? - Yes. Love him, support him, understand what happened, understand the big mistake, but I know who he is. Thank you, Nandini, for that day. - Mr. Childish, you wish we heard? - There are two aspects in this case that are quite conserved for sentencing in this matter. One is, what exactly the motive? What exactly the reason for the shocking, breaking scenario, that November? And the second is, this is kind of a culmination of a pattern of conduct. That it predated in November, breaking scenario. That wouldn't stop. The victim in this case isn't the next mic. Isn't somebody who had some sort of a tangling for years? She's not so famous that, personally, obsessed with, I don't know why he zeroed in on what he did, but not knowing the why is a cause of what concerned, considering future conduct, future behavior. - And the second issue is, as this conduct was escalated, she comes home to tell no, he's in her home or computer, she tells him to leave. If that's not the moment to stop and say, I'm very lucky, I'm not talking to a police officer like you. That then make it stop. I don't know. It's not the one-time decision, despite that encounter. He was insulated and protected because of his reputation and employment. When someone is insulated, because of their position of trust, when someone is given that kind of responsibility and then uses it as a shield and sword, the need for a significant sentence in the case becomes great because his conduct, reaches just beyond the school and our family. It undermines really trusting the institutions that as a community, we rely on comfort or safety. We were relying on people in his position for kindness and help. You are today, this court is going to be ultimate voice and the service that this court hands down is taking. The column believes we need to speak formal, not only for justice, for the victim, for protection, for healing. - All right, thank you, Mr. Children, Mr. Davies. - You know, my client was probably largely raised most of that as far as protective or a little problem. He wants protective work. He's abided by protective work without any issue whatsoever, last two or so of the year's probation. We fully expect to get it. He will get it, and we want it. He wants that family. That's not really an issue. - The issue is, of course, what the court does is fire the sets. This is why it testified to, he is the brand of it. He's got three kids for life or they've been the same home but his wife is strong enough. He did serve four days. The charges were awake and calm. He stopped since that day. He's sex, the punishment, he accepts the conviction. But there was a reason, there was a relationship. Marie denied it, but more of his wife testified. They were caught. And the phrase proofs and funny. We're worried about the dangers of this part. His willingness to abide by the protective work speaks volumes. His support from his family speaks volumes. His love was white on his kids, speak volumes. And then his willingness to take responsibility speaks volumes. He's fully committed to not making any excuses. He's just looking for suspended settings. The log title will present. - Right, thank you. Mr. Chote, there's anything else? - Mr. Wardie, please stand, sir. Mr. Wardie, do you know of any reason that I shouldn't sentence you today? Or is there anything you would like to say before I do sentence you? All right, go ahead. - I want to say sorry for his passions. I am deeply sorry for everything. That's the years I've been going to counseling personally and put my mind up. Hope it's adequate for my life. I'm sorry to vehicle to her family. You know, I know this costs the stress of her life. And I'm sorry for that, but I'm sorry else too. My church, my community. And, most of all, I'm very sorry for my life. I have tried to move forward there. I'm honored to, to support that family. And to do any immense I have to do. I'm grateful for the opportunity to address you. I say I'm sorry. I also have to work with probation officer to move forward in whatever way I have to do that. Yeah, I'm sorry. I don't want to be in this supporting aim or any reason or any other force. - All right, well, thank you for that. (gentle music) - Let me say a couple things. One thing that jumped out at me, and I do remember the jury trial. This was not a one-time exercise at judgment. This was conduct that we've repeated. And it wasn't random. It's clear that Ms. Columbus and her family were the targets of this activity. And why they were the target, you know, I've heard various reasons, but they were target in any of it. And I've listened to Ms. Columbus and I've read the letters about the impact that this has had on her. I've read the letters or reviewed the letters that people have written, praising your character and I don't pass judgment as to whether you're a good or bad man. That's not my job. But having considered all of that, including the priests that support the guidelines and as Mr. Childress voted the guidelines, in this case, only recommend probation. They do not recommend any incarceration. I do not think the guidelines reflect the seriousness of this offense or the impact that it has had on Ms. Columbus and her family. So I do think a departure from the guidelines is appropriate. Having said all that, Mr. Gwardy, it's a judgment of the court that you'd be sentenced as follows. On the first breaking and entering, I sent you to a term incarceration of five years. I'm gonna suspend four years and nine months. On the second charge of breaking and entering, I sent you to five years in incarceration. I'm gonna suspend five years. And on the charge of stalking, I sent you to a term incarceration of 12 months, I'm gonna suspend 11 months. That's a total sentence of 10 years and 12 months with. four months to serve, the remainder being suspended. I will give you a delay report day, you're to report to jail at 8 o'clock a.m., next Friday, October 24th. If you fail to report or you report late, that could result in additional charges and further consequences. I will also order if you are eligible that you can participate, work release. The suspended sentence has some conditions. I'm gonna go over those with you now. First, you're to be of good behavior and all respects. We're here to finish your starting today. I'm placing you on two years of supervised probation. I will start immediately upon your release from the jail. You're to report to your probation officer within three business days of your release. You're to comply with the conditions of probation and the directions of your probation officer. I'm ordering you to have absolutely no contact with Ms. Calumna or any members of her family or household. And I'm also gonna enter a two year protective order that will go into effect today. You will be served with it before you leave the courthouse and that protective order will be in effect. There will be no contact protective order for two years. Violations of effective order will result in additional criminal charges. As required by law, I'm ordering you to submit to it. DNA tests and provide legible fingerprints to the sheriff or jail if you're not done so, and to pay the court costs of this case on the schedule set by the truck. Ms. Wardie, do you understand those conditions? Do you have any questions about any of those conditions? So, don't leave the courthouse until you're served with that protective order. - At the sentencing hearing, I watched Laura Sergio's wife be called to the witness stand. And she starts testifying. She's obviously very prepared. At that point, I really felt defeated and also scared. This man has already been validated and encouraged and supported. That's when I got really actually fearful for my life. She was explaining how terrible this situation has been for them and it's been a living nightmare for them. Then she actually did admit that what he did wasn't right, which that's the first time I've ever heard that. But basically, her whole testimony was about the impact on them and their kids and their life. I absolutely agree that her children are victims in this too, because it's gonna impact them. I just was so angry when they talked about how it's impacted them financially. Me as the single mother with everything that these people have done to me financially, I was livid to hear that when she was finished with her testimony, then Sergio was given time to talk to the judge. It was basically like he was apologizing to the judge. That's what it sounded like. He didn't say what he was sorry for. There was nothing specific. I didn't think it was genuine. When he was done, then the judge said the guidelines recommend probation, which that's shocking with multiple breaking and enterings. But the judge said because of the details that he felt like it was appropriate to go above the guidelines. So I, all of a sudden, felt like he's heard me. He understands the severity of this. He then explains because it wasn't just a one time thing and the duration that he's decided to sentence Sergio to 11 years, five years for the one felony of breaking entering, five years for the other felony of breaking and entering and then one year for the stalking with only four months to serve. It was explained 10 years, nine months, suspended meaning if he's charged again, that would be hanging over his head and he could serve the remainder of that time if he gets in trouble again with criminal charges. But it shocked me because I'm like eight years of prison for me that he put me through and he only gets four months in jail. Another thing that really surprised me was that the judge only reflected on these crimes for like a good 30 seconds maybe. It made me feel heard and yet not really heard at all. As soon as the judge shared the sentencing, I felt a tapping on my back. The court victim advocate was like, we gotta go and we were rushing out of the courtroom even though everybody was still there and the judge was still talking. And I'm like, why are you rushing? We go all the way back to that room that we were in that morning. None of my supporters are in that room with me. And the prosecutors just smiling. He's so happy and he's like, this was great. This is a win. Tell me how to feel and tell me what my opinion should be. That's what it felt like. And then finally, he's like, what's wrong? And I said, why didn't I read my victim impact statement? He said, you did. And I said, no, I didn't. And he said, you answered the questions. I said, that is not reading my victim impact statement. And he said, well, you were looking down at your paper when you were answering the questions. That's not true. I never once looked down when I was answering those questions. Then the other women that had come there for me came into the room and they were asking him questions. It just felt so weird that they were so involved. I can't even describe it, but it's almost like other people took ownership of the experience. And I'm just sitting here like, I'm not a part of this. We were there for maybe more than 30 minutes. We were waiting for the protective order. The bailiff comes back with the protective order. And we're still sitting there as the prosecutor is just talking and talking and talking. I just want to get the hell out of this wretched building. Finally, I'm like, why are we here? I just want to leave. So we leave, then WSET, a reporter wanted to talk to me after. I'm just in a days. I'm dissociated. I shouldn't have done this interview, but I did. She just asked me how I feel. And I'm just like, yeah, just as was Circus. I was told many times that he most likely won't go to jail. So when I'm expecting nothing, and then he gets four months, of course, I'm going to consider that a win. Coming up on something was wrong. I was scrolling on TikTok, and I saw a report from Daily Mail. I went to their site, and I put in a brief summary of what happened. And the next morning, a reporter with Southwest News Service contacted me and was interested in doing an interview. That is what changed a lot of things. And I'm so thankful that I did that. I believe it's only made me safer. The fact that it made national news, because now more eyes are on this. Thank you endlessly to every survivor, guest, and expert who has contributed to our community. We are eternally grateful for your bravery, energy, and time. Something was wrong is a broken cycle media production created and produced by Tiffany Rees. Thank you to our incredible team, associate producer, Amy B. Chessler, audio engineer Becca High, and social media marketing manager, Lauren Barkman. Special thanks to Sarah Stewart for our amazing season 26 artwork, Stephen Wack for ad audio editing, and our partners at audio boom. If you love something was wrong, and you want to help support the show and listen ad-free, become a community contributor on Apple Podcasts, or purchase a sticker from our sticker shop at brokencyclemedia.com. Or tell everyone you know, like your neighbor, sister, brother, yoga instructor, florist, telemarketer, rakey-hiller, stylist, trainer, mentor, parents, cousins, aunties, unks, coaches, librarians, match artist, dance instructor, balloon artist, wedding planner, bridesmaids, bank teller, driver, dog groomer, dentist, orthodontist, esthetician, tattoo artist, house cleaner, accountant, tax preparer, insurance agent, mail carrier, crossing guard, barista, beekeeper, notary public, lifeguard, camp counselor, flight attendant, dog walker, pet sitter, Pilates instructor, spin instructor, tarot reader, acupuncturist, landscaper, electrician, plumber, contractor, real estate agent, mortgage broker, optometrist, veterinarian, park ranger, farmers market vendor, little league coach, PTA president, school librarian, substitute teacher, driving instructor, wedding efficient, travel agent, locksmith, ferris wheel operator, hot air balloon pilot, llama farmer, falconer, puppeteer, professional mermaid, or that one friend who's somehow just in everyone's business, if you know you know. Thank you so much for listening. Until next time, stay safe friends. Hi friends, this is Amy B. Chessler. And if you've been loving listening to something was wrong, you'll definitely want to check out broken cycle [BLANK_AUDIO] the media's sister podcast, "What Came Next," with more than 170 episodes available. The series explores what happens after survivors share their stories publicly, diving into healing, justice, advocacy, and the lasting impact of trauma and media exposure. Co-created and co-produced by Tiffany Reese, the show gives survivors a platform to discuss not just what happened, but where life led them next. Follow and listen to "What Came Next," wherever you get your podcasts.