DADE CITY, Fla. -- Pasco investigators are searching for an accused rapist two years after a former Scream-A-Geddon worker told detectives she was violated by a coworker.
ABC Action News reporter Ryan Smith requested all calls for service by the Pasco County Sheriff's Office to the Dade City haunted park after another woman came forward this week saying she was groped by a scare actor.
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According to the Pasco County Sheriff's Office, a 17-year-old employee came forward in September 2017 to report a fellow employee sexually assaulted her at the famed Halloween attraction.
"She was asked by someone in a managerial position to work with him in an isolated area, she didn’t think anything about it," said the victim's attorney, Ron Bone. "Turned the sound up on the equipment, got her in a conex box, and sexually assaulted her."
ABC Action News has learned, more than two years later, detectives are trying to find Jose Eduardo Saldana-Hernandez, 36, of Anderson, Indiana. The Pasco Sheriff's Office believes he may have fled the country.
"It’s been a difficult road for her. She’s had a lot of setbacks," said Bone. "I know that she deals with PTSD-type symptoms, she has nightmares about this event and that’s certainly to be expected."
"It tells me that there’s a culture there that is either ignoring a problem, improperly training to prevent a problem, or perhaps even encouraging a problem and I would hate for that to be the case," added Bone.
A company representing Scream-A-Geddon denies the victim was an employee of the haunted park, despite what investigators tell ABC Action News.
The company released the following statement:
"The allegation of assault against the out-of-state independent contractor in September 2017 was investigated by the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office. Neither the victim, nor, independent contractor were ever employees of Scream-A-Geddon. Scream-A-Geddon fully cooperated with the Sheriff’s Office on this investigation and no charges were filed by the Sheriff’s Office. We have not heard from the Pasco County Sheriff’s office regarding this investigation since 2017. We take these matters very seriously. The safety and security of our guests is paramount, and always a priority. All additional inquires can be directed to the Pasco County Sheriff’s office."
