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Millions of people have now watched the surveillance video on NBC10 Boston's social media platforms. The footage shows the night a pizza shop owner in Hopkinton, Massachusetts, assaulted a teen employee in a supply closet in the basement of the business. Prior to that incident at Hillers Pizza, NBC10 Boston learned that Petros Sismanis was convicted of assaulting two of his employees inside his Hopkinton donut shop in the late 1990s. That conviction required him to register as a Level 2 sex offender for 20 years. The NBC10 Boston story is generating a lot of questions from Hopkinton residents — and from online comments — about what town leaders should have known about Sismanis' background before approving a license to operate the pizza shop. When he opened the business in 2016, you could not find Sismanis' name on the Massachusetts Sex Offender Registry. That's because the Legislature only decided to place Level 2 offenders on the public online registry in July 2013. The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court later ruled that retroactively placing offenders who were convicted prior to that date — including Sismanis — was unconstitutional. Even though the info is not available via online search, residents can still obtain all Level 2 sex offender details from their local police departments. The public can also inquire about Level 2 offenders classified prior to July 2013 through the Sex Offender Registry Board's online portal. "Nothing at all stops the board of selectpeople, or any other governing board, from asking the applicant directly, 'Have you ever been convicted of any crimes? If so, what crimes have you been convicted of?' and determining whether he's given full, complete and truthful answers," said Brad Bailey, a veteran defense attorney and former prosecutor. Bailey said people who are required to register as sex offenders can typically petition the SORB for reclassification every three years. After 10 years, they can petition for removal from the registry if they have stayed out of trouble, had no new arrests, and shown rehabilitative qualities, Bailey said. In 2004, a Milford police report shows Sismanis was arrested and charged with failing to register his address with law enforcement authorities. Court records show the charge was later dismissed. After opening the pizza shop nearly a decade ago, heavily-redacted police reports NBC10 Boston obtained show Sismanis was the focus of other allegations filed by employees. Those complaints raise questions about what the police department knew and how much of that information they shared with elected officials who decide on license approvals and renewals. Deputy Hopkinton Police Chief Scott van Raalten told NBC10 Boston on Wednesday that he plans to research comments raised by residents during a recent public comment session at Hopkinton Town Hall. Van Raalten said he will present his findings to the Hopkinton Select Board about what access police had access to, and what could be legally shared with town leaders during the licensing process. Sismanis, a Greek citizen, was released from jail last month into the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He's currently being held at a detention facility in Rhode Island and could face deportation. If he remains in the United States, he is required to register as a sex offender once again as a result of his conviction last summer. osed even more allegations," Laskowsky said. "I hope now we have your attention."
