Linda Giusti helps those who have been victims of crime.
WARSAW — If you have ever been a victim of a crime, the judicial process can be confusing. Linda Giusti is there to help those who are victims of crimes against the person.
She assists victims of such crimes as burglary, theft, robbery and rape. But her biggest area of help is to those who are victims of domestic battery and child abuse. She is also there for the families of those who lost a loved one to the crime of murder.
“I keep the victims informed as it (the case) goes through the judicial system,” said Giusti. Additionally she helps the victims get restitution, receive financial assistance if applicable for out of pocket expenses.
“I’m the liaison between them and the prosecuting attorney,” said Giusti. “I’m the in-between person, provide them update as the case proceeds in court, provide information on their feelings how they think or would like as an outcome.” Giusti can also been seen in the courtroom, sitting in on behalf of the victims or by the side of the victim if they wish.
Giusti became the county’s victim assistant through the prosecutor’s office five years ago.
“It was because life put it in my path,” she said about her job. “I took it and feel I’ve done a good job.”
Because of the type of cases she deals with it can be emotional. “You do get emotionally involved in a case. It’s important to have someone you can relate to. The prosecutor has a different perspective of the case. I can relate in a different way. I’m there to support them.”
She recalls her very first case, working with a victim and family of a child molestation. She spent more than a month with the victims. “I had to learn how to deal with it and move on. Now I mediate daily so I can give the best of me, be in a good place to give them the best. It’s hard to detach yourself. It’s not easy, but I’m getting there.”
It is often a sad job for her, but very fulfilling. “You give something but you receive more than you give. Just to be there for people, I’m able to be with them and relate to them and I get so much more back.”
A lot of the victims let her know the appreciation they have for what she has done, by coming back and visiting with her, sending her flowers or cards, just to say thanks. Sometimes she’s been invited to special occasions in those victim’s lives.
Giusti tries not to give advice, but provide tools for the people she works with to understand what is going on, why the court is doing what it is doing and the responsibilities of each person involved in a case.
Giusti attended the state’s first Victim Assistance Academy and has a degree as a bilingual secretary, a great tool for the prosecutor’s office. With the Hispanic population in the county growing it also allows an easier understanding of the cultural differences.
Giusti was born and raised in Lima, Peru, South America and came to the United States 12 years ago with her immediate family. “It’s a funny story,” Giusti said about how she came to Warsaw. She and her sister were exchange students a long time ago. Giusti went to Lancaster, Pa., her sister came to Leesburg and eventually married a “poor old farm boy,” Tim Polk. “That chain pulled all of us to the United States, my mom and all three of us girls live here now.”
Giusti has three children and seven grandchildren and is a fan of pickle ball and Zumba. If she’s not visiting her mom, who is now in a nursing home, she is in Lafayette with her family.