End to Montgomery haunted house sex-toy lawsuit
A settlement has been reached in the case of an Oswego woman who sued a haunted house in October 2014 arguing she and her teen daughter were harassed and accosted by workers dressed as clowns and brandishing sex toys.
The lawsuit against the Massacre Haunted House of Montgomery was dismissed this week after a judge signed off on a settlement with Regina Janito.
Kane County Judge Mark Pheanis dismissed the lawsuit "with prejudice," meaning it cannot be refiled again, according to court records.
Janito's attorney Michael Huseman said the settlement was confidential, that the haunted house made no admission of wrongdoing, and declined to comment on what, if any, monetary award his client received or if she received an apology.
Louis Pissios, an attorney for the haunted house, said: "Massacre admitted no fault. That's the only comment I can make."
Janito sued the haunted house in October 2014 for unspecified damages for intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligence.
"The conduct of the haunted house and its employees crossed all lines of decency and common sense," Huseman said at the time. "Their conduct was outrageous and extreme. My client and her daughter were traumatized by the event."
According to the suit, Janito drove her teen daughter and three of her friends to the haunted house on Oct. 11, 2014. They were met in the parking lot by two men dressed as clowns and holding sex toys who began to harass the group. One clown poked a teen with a sex toy while another man dressed as a clown simulated a sex act. They group left the area and did not buy tickets or go inside the haunted house.
That led to the arrest of Robert S. Keller, 25, of Algonquin, who was charged with misdemeanor battery. The other clown, referred to as "John Doe" in the lawsuit, was not charged.
Keller pleaded guilty in August 2015 and was fined $500, ordered to perform 30 hours of community service and placed on a year of probation, records show.