An Army lieutenant colonel assigned to Fort Leavenworth, Kan., will spend 10 months in prison after beating his former wife so severely that he broke eight of her ribs, requiring her to spend five days in the hospital, according to service prosecutors. (U.S. Army)
An Army officer assigned to Fort Leavenworth in Kansas will spend 10 months in prison after beating his former wife so severely that he broke eight of her ribs, requiring her to spend five days in the hospital, according to prosecutors.
Lt. Col. Greg Pasquantonio, 42, an aviation trainer assigned to the Mission Command Training Program, pleaded guilty last month before military judge Lt. Col. Gregory Bockin at Fort Leavenworth. He was sentenced to the maximum amount allowed through his plea agreement and will serve the 10 months at Midwest Joint Regional Correctional Facility, also at Fort Leavenworth, according to the Office of Special Trial Counsel, which prosecuted the case.
Pasquantonio did not receive a dismissal from the Army, which left him eligible for his retirement benefits.
“Domestic violence tears communities apart, but unpunished domestic violence creates a permission structure for violence against women,” said Capt. Rachel Rose, prosecutor for the Fourth Circuit, Army Office of Special Trial Counsel. “Lt. Col. Pasquantonio’s punishment of 10 months of confinement signifies the Army’s commitment to holding itself accountable and reflects a step towards ending domestic violence among its ranks.”
Pasquantonio and his wife have since divorced and he has remarried, according to county court records.
The Lansing Police Department responded to a call at about 3:38 p.m. on Dec. 1, 2022, to a home in Leavenworth County, where officers found Pasquantonio and his then-wife, who was 39 at the time. She was on the floor of their bedroom and appeared disoriented, according to court records in Leavenworth County, where the case was first prosecuted and Pasquantonio was convicted.
“She was unable to communicate with me at first but mumbled that her husband did it to her,” the police officer wrote in the report.
Pasquantonio first told police that he found his wife in this state, then said they had been going through a “rough time,” and she was lying and unfaithful to him. He then said he pushed her during a verbal argument.
“The last thing I remember is him coming in and raising his voice and started screaming, and then he was punching me in my stomach,” the former wife said during the August 2023 civilian trial.
She next remembered waking up in the emergency room, she said.
Her injuries included eight broken ribs and a head injury, according to Army prosecutors. She spent five days in the hospital.
In the civilian trial, Pasquantonio was not sentenced to any time in prison, only probation.
“Our thoughts are with the victim in this case, who has endured so much. While we advocated for a prison sentence, as prosecutors, we respect the court’s final decision,” said Leavenworth County Attorney Todd Thompson. “At the same time, we acknowledge and appreciate the justice system, including the military court, for ensuring this case was prosecuted.”
