JOHNNY SCUOTTO STATEMENT

This is a letter from Johnny Scuotto one of our community members in regards to an online page that was made in November 2020 by an anonymous group of people who have continued to stalk and harass him for over five years. 

When you search my name on the internet a page appears with numerous one sided stories followed by misleading hashtags to summarize the behavior. These stories are a slanderous distortion of my past. The admins of the page have a resource guide for restorative justice so I contacted a Staten Island crisis counselor who I worked with for several months. The counselor told me restorative justice is a preventative method when the community comes together in person to restore one person back into their community. Posting on instagram is not a model for restorative justice. Using the internet as a public platform to gossip and cyber stalk someone has nothing to do with restoration. 

In 2021 the admin of the account shared a post to let everyone know I’m not ready to be let back into the public eye or community to perform. I do not want anything to do with a community that spreads rumors in recovery groups like AA to alienate others and destroys lives.

I’ve spoken openly in the past about how the anonymous stories on the page are not true. This became apparent when a man impersonated me via email leading to death threats towards me, my dog and girlfriend. I have an audio recording and screenshots from this conversation.

I have always taken responsibility privately and made amends for any wrongdoings. These amends were mutual well before the page was made. Why is it necessary to create a spectacle on social media for strangers to comment on? Consuming the life of someone you do not like will always cause more suffering for those who are involved. I am always here to help others who have gone through a similar traumatic experience. Why can’t we use a solution that heals both parties rather than continuing to create a divide? There is enough horror in the world and we should all focus on doing better. 

-JOHNNY