The recent investigative reporting by Spotlight PA uncovered a chilling truth: at Field of Screams, a man convicted in 2011 of indecent exposure and corruption of minors volunteered alongside teens for three years. It is unacceptable and horrifying that a venue designed for chills and thrills has been hiding real danger for children.

A haunted house stops being harmless fun when minors work in dark corridors, unsupervised back rooms, and isolated volunteer shifts. The setting itself creates risk: pitch-black rooms, costumed actors grabbing and startling child volunteers, moving through props and hidden spaces. Children in that environment are vulnerable to predatory behavior, and it appears Field of Screams failed to protect them.

Why These Venues Are Especially Dangerous

• Low lighting + disorientation. Immersive scares in haunted attractions strip away normal boundaries for kids.
• Costumed adults in authority. Volunteers and staff become part of the act—lines blur between actor and adult supervisor.
• Volunteer minors interacting with adults in unsupervised moments. The report details groping, sexual pressure and a culture of silence among teens.
• Background check loopholes. The company allowed the convicted volunteer to pass the background check by excluding misdemeanors older than seven years.
• Institutional denial. Kids and young volunteers said staff ignored their complaints or dismissed them as “a joke.”

What You Can Do Legally If Your Child Was Involved

1. Document everything. Save emails, texts, schedules, photos, costume assignments, volunteer lists.
2. Preserve evidence of misconduct. Screenshots of messages, photos from shifts, witness names.
3. Speak with a victims’ attorney. Whether the venue is for-profit or seasonal, children at risk mean institutions may be liable under negligence, negligent hiring, supervision failure, or statutory protections for minors.
4. Consider reporting to law enforcement. Even if charges weren’t initially brought, new evidence or patterns may trigger investigation.
5. Raise civil claims. Venues may claim seasonal or recreational status, but they cannot waive their duty of care when minors are involved.
6. Advocate for policy change. Push local legislators to close loopholes allowing for-profit seasonal businesses to avoid child-clearance laws.

What Must Change to Make Field of Screams and Others Safe

• Every adult volunteer or staffer at venues interacting with minors must undergo full child-clearance: state abuse history, criminal history, FBI fingerprint check.
• Lawmakers must expand statutes to explicitly include haunted attractions under child-safe volunteer laws, regardless of their licensing status.
• Enforce constant supervision of minors by trained, screened adults not costumed actors whose job blurs oversight boundaries.
• Require trauma-informed training for all staff: clarity on boundaries, power dynamics, grooming signs, forced consent.
• Adopt a zero-tolerance policy for misconduct reported by minors or volunteers, with independent investigations and mandatory reporting to authorities.
• Give parents full disclosure: volunteer work should have clear job descriptions, supervision details, and contact persons for immediate concerns.

A Call to Parents, Institutions & Lawmakers

If your child volunteers somewhere, ask: “Who else is here with them? What supervision exists after dark? What background checks were done?” Don’t assume “because it’s fun” means it’s safe. I always tell my son that people are not legally allowed to touch him in spaces like this so if someone tries to-scream fire and run.

For institutions: you cannot outsource safety. Field of Screams is designed to scare but it should not be a space where a predator hides in plain sight. You must err on the side of child safety, not impulse-buying a thrill.

To lawmakers: this case is a wake-up call. When a man convicted of exposing himself to children can walk into a volunteer role with minors, something is broken. Close the loopholes. Stand up for children.

Children deserve the freedom to play, volunteer, explore they do not deserve to face predators in the guise of fun. We must protect them. We must hold institutions accountable.