Ohio fight promoter accused of mock rape scenes, humiliating patrons at Haunted House event
A mixed martial arts promoter in Ohio has come under fire after a haunted house he was promoting has gone too far. Jeremy Caudill, who runs Honor Fighting Championships, has been promoting Akron Fright Fest, which was dubbed as the area’s first Rated R haunted attraction.
Caudill and his brand have come become the center of attention, drawing both regional and national news coverage after dozens of patrons have come forward stating they were not only shocked by what they saw and how they were treated, but humiliated in the process. The victims state that they were never asked to sign a waiver.
Videos promoting the event are disturbing but it the stories that have since been told that are far worse.
One couple complained that they were subjected to the mock rape at the R-rated haunted house at the Kim Tam Park property on Canton Road.
“There was a man in a mask standing over my boyfriend, my boyfriend was on the edge and he was being pushed down,” Sarah Lelonek told the television station.
“She comes over and yells, stop, what are you doing? That’s my boyfriend,” said Lelonek’s boyfriend Ryan Carr. “Not anymore, he’s mine now I’m going to rape him and then he started thrusting against me.”
Another customer told News 5 Cleveland, “They grabbed my ankles and shins and pulled my legs apart and was thrusting while telling me to scream papa.”
The haunted house has also gained attention after customers like Sai-Vaughn Stokes, known as Sai-Vaughn Barkley on Facebook, who shared his experience, noting that employees can cut someone’s hair and shave their eyebrows.
Stokes said he uploaded a video on Facebook following his experience which has since been shared by thousands of viewers. In the video, Stokes said he was a “survivor” who “didn’t quit” after he said someone had tied him up and shaved his right eyebrow.
“They took my socks off, put my socks in my mouth, taped those in it and then picked me up and threw me in a tub with water,” said Stokes in an interview with WKYC Monday afternoon.
Caudill says he did not know that these types of actions would occur in his haunted house and has issued an apology. Caudwill said that employees “who worked in the area where the incident allegedly occurred have been suspended” and additional security will monitor the site.
How the promoter of an R rated fright fest did not know, especially after promoting videos and photos of the event himself, is beyond comprehension, but the show currently continues to go on.
The company says they will now donate a portion of their proceeds from the following two weekends to the Rape Crisis Center of Medina and Summit counties.
