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Dennis Firefighter Charged With Assault, Arrested At Station

DENNIS (CBS) -- Yarmouth Police took a firefighter into custody at the Dennis Fire Department Tuesday morning on charges of assault.

Sebastian Pessini faces charges of assault and battery on a household or family member, subsequent offense. He's also charged with animal cruelty, strangulation or suffocation, and intimidation of a witness.

He was arraigned Tuesday in Barnstable District Court and held without bail pending a Friday dangerousness hearing.

The Cape Cod Times reports that Pessini is accused of regularly abusing a woman over a two-year period.

According to the paper, that woman reported the alleged abuse to Yarmouth Police last week.

Those incidents allegedly include an incident on the Fourth of July where Pessini got angry that she spilled beer on his clothes--then drove erratically to scare her, tried to choke her, and snatched her phone when she tried to call police.

Dennis Fire Chief Mark Dellner told WBZ-TV that his department was not aware of any issues with Pessini until officers came to arrest him around 11:30 a.m.

Dellner said Pessini is a firefighter/paramedic who has been with the department for three years, and that he has been placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of his case.

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