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Actors at an “edgy” adult haunted house in Ohio were suspended Tuesday, after at least two patrons claimed that they were subjected to simulated sexual assaults while attending the attraction last weekend. The Akron Beacon Journal reports that Akron Fright Fest promised a more mature haunted house experience, including physical contact from actors—but a handful of attendees complained to the Journal that they suffered injuries from aggressive physical contact, and at least two said they were pushed onto a mattress where the simulated assaults occurred. One patron told the Journal that she was shoved despite telling actors she had a shoulder injury, and that a male friend was shoved onto a bed by an actor who said he was going to rape him—despite their joint efforts to make it stop. “[He] was trying to get up at this point, but the actor pushed him back down,” she said. “He then started to hump my boyfriend with force.”
A second patron, who is a minor, also complained of simulated rape. The owner of the park condemned his actors’ behavior, telling the Journal that he was “shocked and appalled.” He said the actors in question have been suspended while the matter is investigated further, adding that security monitoring systems have been installed and that the organization will make a donation to a local rape crisis center. “Obviously, rape is a horrible act,” he said. “Even a mock rape scene has no place as part of any entertainment. And it has no place at our park.”