Delay sought in haunted house battery lawsuit
A defense attorney for a Montgomery haunted house wants a judge to put a hold on a lawsuit filed by a woman who says she and her daughter were accosted last October by sex toy-wielding clowns.
Robert S. Keller, 24, of Algonquin, was charged with misdemeanor battery and disorderly conduct after an incident in which Regina Janito argued in lawsuit that she and her teen daughter were verbally harassed and even poked with sex toys being held by two men dressed as clowns in the haunted house parking lot on Oct. 11, 2014.
Keller is next due in criminal court Thursday.
Louis Pissios, a defense attorney for the haunted house and Keller, has denied the allegation.
Pissios wants Keller's criminal case to finish first because, while Keller has the right to not testify and remain silent in the criminal case, the rules are different in civil cases, and he could be forced to make statements in a deposition.
"Were this matter to proceed in advance of the criminal case against defendant Keller, the waiver of that right (or any other criminal right) would prejudice the position of defendant Keller and defendant Massacre Haunt Inc.," Pissios wrote in court papers.
Judge Thomas Mueller will hear Pissios' request April 23, according to court records. Janito is seeking unspecified damages for infliction of emotional distress and other claims.
Citizens academy expanded
The Kane County Sheriff's Office has partnered with the Fox Valley Park District Police to form a joint citizens police academy.
The 10-week course is March 11 to May 13.
Classes are 6 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesdays at the Prisco Community Center, 150 W. Illinois Ave., Aurora, and at the sheriff's office, 37W755 Route 38, St. Charles.
The academy will provide a behind-the-scenes look at how law enforcement works and will be taught by deputies and officers from both organizations.
A citizens police academy operated for seven years under former sheriff Pat Perez. Sheriff Don Kramer's office said expanding it would help promote the "expanded community policing philosophy of the sheriff's office.
"By bringing in more citizens to experience and understand how the sheriff's office and the park district police function, we will continue to open the lines of communication between us and the citizens," according to a news release from Kramer's office.
For more information, visit foxvalleyparkdistrict.org.
hhitzeman@dailyherald.com