A sexual assault victim has taken legal action against the Town of Hopkinton and its police chief, alleging negligence due to their inaction regarding a convicted sex offender, Petros Sismanis, who operated a pizza shop, as NBC10 Boston and the Hopkinton Independent have reported. Sismanis was found guilty of indecent assault and witness intimidation last summer following an incident involving a 16-year-old employee.
Despite previous convictions for sexual assault in the 1990s at another local business, Sismanis was able to open Hillers Pizza in 2016 and even partnered with the Hopkinton Police Department for charity fundraisers, which raised questions about the town's vetting process. Records did not indicate that town leaders ever took disciplinary action against Sismanis' business license, even as allegations of inappropriate behavior surfaced in police reports and on social media. The lawsuit filed by the victim's attorney, Christopher Waterman, is seeking accountability for both the physical assault and the subsequent emotional harm the victim suffered, stating, “She is overwhelmed with feelings of shame, humiliation and suffocating sadness,” as stated in the NBC10 Boston investigation.
The complexities of the case touch on how town leaders and police handled Sismanis’ status as a sex offender, particularly regarding informing the community or taking action in light of his history and the risks posed. Legal analysts provided insights to NBC10 Boston, suggesting that while there may be a high threshold for legal responsibility for cities and towns, the moral and protective duties toward children and parents appear to have been neglected. The victim's attorney argues in the lawsuit, "Defendants consciously disregarded known risks posed by Sismanis and failed to implement protective measures despite repeated warnings and the gravity of those threats," constituting a violation of the victim’s 14th Amendment rights, as reported by the Independent.
Town responses have included explanations regarding legal prohibitions on information disclosure, with Deputy Chief Scott van Raalten emphasizing that domestic violence laws restrict what police can divulge, putting forth that they were "legally prohibited from proactively informing community members about Mr. Sismanis’ sex offender status"; nonetheless, scrutiny continues from the community on how the CV license renewals and Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) and Sex Offender Registration Information (SORI) checks were managed, or in some cases, not implemented when Sismanis applied for an entertainment license in 2018, which was acknowledged by Town Manager Elaine Lazarus in an interview with the Independent. Currently, Sismanis is in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody and faces potential deportation to Greece, with no legal representation listed for his defense in this civil lawsuit.
