John Cascone, the AdventHealth Palm Coast surgeon who pleaded to a battery charge in a domestic violent case four years ago, was arrested again on Saturday (Nov. 4) on a felony count of aggravated child abuse involving a 15-year-old girl, and a felony battery count involving his wife. He was released the next day on $60,000 bond.
Cascone and his wife of three years have been living in their Colechester Lane house with his wife’s daughter. The daughter reported to 911 the night of Nov. 4 that Cascone, whom she referred to as her step-father, had struck her and her mother. She would later tell deputies that Cascone had pinned her down and pepper-sprayed her after head-butting her mother immediately after her mother told Cascone: “You’ve hit me three nights in a row.”
The 15 year old told deputies she was in her bedroom when she started hearing banging and yelling in the house. She left her room and saw Cascone allegedly pushing her mother around. Her mother was bleeding. The girl told Cascone to stay away from her mother. After the head-butting, Cascone continued to push the girl’s mother and strike both women until the girl’s mother fell. The girl ran to her room to retrieve pepper spray to defend her mother.
Cascone grabbed the pepper spray from her, pushed her down, “and pinned her to the ground by her arm as he deployed the pepper spray” on her. The girl’s mother was able to help her escape, at which point the girl ran off and called 911. She was flushing her eyes when Flagler County Sheriff’s deputies arrived. The smell of the pepper spray, which one of the deputies recognized, was still in the air.
The mother did not deny what her daughter had witnessed or told deputies, but she declined to provide a statement or seek medical attention.
Cascone told deputies that his wife and her daughter had been in an argument and that he attempted to separate them. He said he had no further recollections. He had an injured pinky finger. He attributed that to hitting himself against a table. His wife had told deputies that the injury was from a bite as the women were attempting to get the 15-year-old away from Cascone’s grip.
Deputies determined that Cascone “maliciously utilized the OC spray against his daughter who he had pinned to the ground and would not allow her to escape as she was sprayed across the eyes,” according to the arrest report. (The technical term for pepper spray is Oleoresin Capsicum.)
The felony battery charge involving Cascone’s wife would have been a misdemeanor battery charge but for the 2019 case, when Cascone originally faced counts of aggravated battery and battery by strangulation, both felonies. That incident involved his then-wife (with whom he has a child who is not yet 10 years old), who at the time made allegations of violent behavior by Cascone.
For a time after that incident Cascone could only see his daughter at what was then known as Sally’s Safe Haven, the supervised visitation center in Bunnell, carrying out 10 such visits before the court granted Cascone the right to see the child unsupervised more frequently. At the same time, the court imposed a two-year injunction for protection for Cascone’s ex-wife, forbidding Cascone to be within 500 feet of her home or to have any contact with her.
Divorce proceedings, initiated in November 2019, became final in September 2021, with shared custody of the child. Along the way, Cascone’s lawyer, John Hager, and prosecutors reached a plea deal that downgraded both felony charges to a misdemeanor battery count, with both sides agreeing that it was not a case of domestic violence under Florida law. Cascone was not adjudicated guilty–the judge withheld adjudication. He was sentenced to 12 months’ probation and barred from communicating with the victim except through Talking Parents, the app.
The dude says
He seems nice…
Definitely a central floriduh man.
Floriduh is where depravity retires to, and where morality goes to die.
Me says
He needs to go find another profession and take behavior classes on how to treat women.
His track record is rather poor.
Toto says
Only such a little man would take a hand to his wife and/or stepdaughter in such a vile way. And he’s a surgeon at Advent Health? His sorry ass should be terminated.
TR says
I’m sure he will loose his license to practice medicine anywhere in the country. Well I hope he does anyway. I also hope Karma comes and bites him in the butt. What a dirt bag.
JimboXYZ says
And 4 years later, he’s starting off the holiday season like this. Not a good look.
Jim says
So this guy has already beat the system once and got off with no punishment. I wonder if it’ll happen again? He’s got money so he’ll hire an attorney (same one as last time, I expect) and they’ll drag out the case until it’s forgotten by most people and then he’ll get a similar closure for this.
I wonder how Advent feels about having a doctor with this guy’s background on their payroll? I can tell you that if he were my doctor, we’d be looking in the rear view mirror as I’d never see this guy again. And I’d make sure Advent knew why I refused to see him. I feel for those who work with him. He obviously is violent and has a temper. Who knows when he’ll snap at work and hurt his co-workers or patients? But since he’s a doctor, I guess we should all just give him the benefit of the doubt….
I’ve seen both his wife and daughter at their house and they are small people. Obviously Cascone is a tough guy who likes to beat up on women. What a man….
Attention Justice System – this is strike two on this dirt bag. I hope he doesn’t get a pass so he can go for a third strike. Next time maybe someone will get seriously hurt or killed. Is that how our system works???
TR says
The first time should have been enough for a tougher sentence. That’s why I hate plea deals.
Leila says
Jim, I did tell Advent.
Leila says
This repeat offender who clearly has many problems now and in previous years is a surgeon at Advent Hospital in Palm Coast. His neighbors will tell you that frightening is frequently heard.
PC talks says
I hope he gets what he deserves! The daughter shows more sense to know it’s not okay and call the cops. I hope he’s Dr license gets revoked, discusting individual.
Donna McGevna says
Far too often the Child becomes the Parent in these sad situations. The parent believes she is saving the marriage for the sake of the child, when in the fact the child is living a nightmare. That child actually fully committed to the arrest of the Man that so violently attacked both victims and it with the strength of this young lady that the wife will actually go through with charges pending. The worst case that Officers do want to deal with is Domestic Violence for these are the calls they do NOT know what they are facing. It is too many instances that the victims, Male or Female, the following day decide NOT to press charges. Sadly it is mostly out of fear of retaliation or the fact that the financial support is more powerful of how will the future look. We need the judges to be more advocates in all of these cases to be heavy handed in supporting all victims that they know the lawn enforcement has done everything in their power to bring them to safety; but they will be handed a safe and secure place to stay, an order of no contact and some means of financial stability.
I am so sorry for the family and I am so proud for the fortitude and mindset of the young lady who stood UP and stood PROUD in support of her Mom. Your life will go on and NO MAN will ever overpower you. You, my dear, are strong already in society. God Bless You!
Bailey’s Mom says
Lock him up! Enough of this violence against women & children, our society needs to make sure these men are locked up!
Thank goodness the teenager was able to stand up and stay strong. We need a better system to help these women move on and protect them.