Haunted house owner enters plea deal for sexually assaulting teen volunteer

TWO RIVERS, Wis. (TCN) -- A 38-year-old haunted house owner and operator entered a plea this week for sexually assaulting a teenager who was a volunteer at the attraction.

Court records show John Schwarz pleaded no contest to having sexual intercourse with a child, fourth-degree sexual assault, and causing mental harm to a child. As part of the plea deal, prosecutors dropped the charge of repeated sexual assault of the same child.

According to WLUK-TV, Schwarz was sentenced to five years of probations. Prosecutors and Schwarz’s defense team initially recommended two years of probation for sexual assault and causing mental harm to a child and five years of probation for the first charge. As part of his probation, conditions would include a psychosexual evaluation, no contact with anyone younger than 18 unless approved, and no contact with the victim. Schwarz’s defense team asked for him to be allowed to see his juvenile son as part of the probation stipulations.

Schwarz was arrested by the Two Rivers Police Department on Oct. 12, 2023, on charges of second-degree sexual assault, two counts of child enticement, and one count of exposing genitals to a child. Schwarz’s family owned Scare USA, a Halloween horror attraction. After his arrest, the company said it "will be closed effective immediately due to unforeseen circumstances."

WLUK-TV reports one of Schwarz’s victims spoke in court and advocated for Schwarz to serve time behind bars.

The victim, who called himself a "shell of his former self," said, "Nobody deserves to go through the amount of pain I have endured."

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