A woman from Massachusetts has filed a lawsuit against the town of Hopkinton, claiming that local authorities carelessly permitted a criminal immigrant, with a past marked by workplace sexual violence, to manage a business where she was assaulted at the age of 16.
On January 5, the case was moved to federal court, naming Petros “Peter” Sismanis, a Greek national currently in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Court records reveal that Sismanis was convicted in June 2025 for sexually assaulting the plaintiff in 2023 while she was employed at Hillers Pizza.
The lawsuit highlights Sismanis’s previous accusations from 1998, which included rape and indecent assault and battery on young females, leading to his registration as a sex offender. Reports from NBC Boston indicate he assaulted two employees at a donut shop he ran in Hopkinton.
Now 19, the plaintiff asserts that officials in Hopkinton, including the police chief and Hillers Pizza, contributed to maintaining a sexually hostile working environment. She claims the town authorities should have been aware of Sismanis’s criminal background when they renewed the pizza shop’s license in 2016, a process involving scrutiny from several town departments, such as the police.
Following the accusations against Sismanis in 2023, Hillers Pizza has shut down permanently in Hopkinton, Massachusetts.
According to Boston.com, the plaintiff is pursuing $1 million in damages.
“There is no record of Hopkinton police or Chief Bennett ever raising questions about Sismanis’ ability to operate the pizza shop, even though he was a registered sex offender,” court documents state. Despite Sismanis’s prior record, the town approved the license renewal, the lawsuit alleges, endangering the female minors Sismanis often hired.
The owner of Hillers Pizza, Petros “Peter” Sismanis, is currently in ICE custody following several sexual assault convictions in Hopkinton, Massachusetts. (Google Maps)
An attorney representing Hopkinton officials said the town acted appropriately at the time of the license renewal.
“While Town and police officials are sympathetic to the circumstances of what happened to the Plaintiff, the Town and Police acted appropriately and constitutionally under the circumstances presented and known to them at the time,” Douglas Louison, a lawyer representing Hopkinton officials, told Boston.com.
In 2023, the plaintiff alleged that Sismanis lured her into the pizza shop’s basement, where he forcefully kissed and hugged her. After the teen called her mother, Sismanis reportedly begged them not to involve the police, saying “he would rather be killed than have the police involved,” according to documents. The lawsuit also claims that he blocked the mother’s car to prevent them from leaving.
Greek national Petros “Peter” Sismanis is currently under ICE custody in California following his sexual assault convictions. (Salwan Georges/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
“Sismanis lured Isabelle into the basement of Hillers Pizza while she was working her shift and proceeded to sexually assault her against her will,” court papers said. “Isabelle, who was only sixteen years of age at the time, was terrified, frozen in fear and did not know what to do.”
Sismanis was convicted in June 2025 on charges of indecent assault, battery and witness intimidation. He was sentenced to six months in jail and ordered to register as a sex offender. Following his conviction, he was placed in ICE custody “as a result of his questionable immigration status” and is currently held in a facility in California.
Prior to the 2023 assault, the lawsuit said Hopkinton police reportedly received several complaints from female employees at Sismanis’s business regarding his conduct.
In 1997, Sismanis was also previously charged with rape, indecent assault and battery on a person older than 14, court records show. NBC Boston reported that he sexually assaulted two of his employees while running a donut shop in Hopkinton.
His later guilty plea to two counts of indecent assault and battery required him to register as a Level 2 sex offender. Boston.com, however, reported that the online Sex Offender Registry Board only includes offenders classified after July 2013, and noted that anyone seeking information prior must contact their local police department.
Fox News Digital reached out to the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement for more information.
