Haunted house lawyer: Sex toy attack never happened
The attorney for a Montgomery haunted house being sued by a woman and her teen daughter on grounds they were assaulted and harassed by clowns with sex toys says the incident didn't happen.
“We believe we're going to be able to prove it never happened,” said Louis Pissios, defense attorney for the Massacre Haunted House.
In her lawsuit, Regina Janito of Montgomery contends she, her daughter and her daughter's friends were assaulted and verbally harassed by two workers dressed as clowns and holding sex toys when the group was in the haunted house parking lot Oct. 11, 2014.
One employee, Robert Keller, is accused of poking Janito's 17-year-old daughter with a sex toy; another employee, identified in the lawsuit as John Doe, simulated a sex act with the toy while Keller made repeated lewd comments toward Janito and her daughter, according to the lawsuit.
She seeks unspecified damages and her attorney has said the actions of Keller and another unknown person, also dressed as a clown and armed with sex toy, “crossed all lines of decency.”
Pissios said there were no security cameras in the haunted house's parking lot, where Janito's lawsuit says the assault took place, but he declined to discuss other specifics of the case.
“Mr. Keller's position and the Massacre's position are that the allegations are false,” Pissios said. “The court case is going to show nobody did anything wrong.”
Janito's lawsuit is next due in Kane County court Feb. 5.
Keller, 23, of Algonquin, was charged with misdemeanor battery and disorderly conduct. The status of his criminal case was not immediately available.
Meanwhile, the haunted house's insurer is trying to get out of paying legal defense fees for the Massacre and Keller.
The Capitol Indemnity Corporation has filed court papers arguing its insurance policy does not cover allegations of battery or assault, and the acts Keller is accused of are beyond the scope of his employment at the haunted house.
The case is due in court on April 28.