A woman who worked at the former Hillers Pizza restaurant in Hopkinton has come forward to share an experience she had with Petros “Peter” Sismanis that her to filing a police report against the business owner years before his 2025 conviction for sexual assault, accusing him of inappropriately touching her and other female employees.

Christina Cuevas began working at Hillers Pizza in 2016. She told NBC10 Boston that Sismanis allegedly hugged her and appeared like he was trying to kiss her one evening after her shift had ended. According to NBC, Sismanis had told the then-24-year-old he wanted to show her where the dumpster was behind the restaurant prior to the incident.

“I felt terrified,” Cuevas recounted. “He was a grown man, and he smelled of alcohol. I didn’t know what he was capable of, and I was just hoping and praying he would let me go back inside.”

Cuevas claimed that Sismanis also spanked her and other female employees repeatedly and attempted to get underage female employees to drink with him. At one point, she alleged Sismanis asked what she would do to repay him if he offered her $1,000.

“I took it as he was hinting at a sexual favor,” Cuevas told NBC10.

Cuevas took her concerns to the Hopkinton Police Department in December of 2016. Her report, which the Independent obtained, is heavily redacted. A follow-up police report states that in January 2017, Middlesex Assistant District Attorney Maggie Patuszak told the HPD that the only two charges her office could follow up on were furnishing alcohol to a minor and an assault charge.

The complaint made against Sismanis appears to have led toward his appearance before the Select Board in 2017. During an executive session, Sismanis stated that the complaints against him were untrue and denied any involvement. The board took no action against the pizza shop owner but stated to him that “the behavior alleged is unacceptable.”

Cuevas’ interview comes as the town is dealing with a lawsuit filed by a victim in a more recent case against Sismanis. The victim was a 16-year-old employee who Sismanis grabbed around the waist and kissed on the mouth in the basement of Hillers Pizza.

Cuevas said when she learned of that accusation, she was dismayed.

“I was extremely disappointed with the Hopkinton Police Department,” Cuevas said. “I think it was complete negligence on their part.”

While the police report shows that Cuevas was able to obtain a restraining order against Sismanis, she said she did not hear from police after that, and she questioned why.

“It was very difficult,” Cuevas said. “I was going through a lot in my life, and that was the last thing I needed. But I wanted justice for myself and all the other girls who had to deal with that kind of thing.”

Cuevas also said Sismanis, who donated to police-led charitable causes, appeared to be in tight with members of the department.

“It seemed like they had a very close relationship,” Cuevas said. “Police would come through the back door and Petros would give them free food.”

The other former employee’s lawsuit alleges negligence on the part of the town and the HPD in allowing Sismanis to continue operating his business in Hopkinton despite a prior conviction for sexual assault. Residents and groups who say they are seeking justice for the victim have continued to press the town on why complaints against Sismanis were never disclosed during any common victualer’s license renewals and why the town did not conduct Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) and Sex Offender Registration Information (SORI) checks into Sismanis.

The town and the HPD have defended themselves against these questions, noting that domestic violence laws prevented the police department from disclosing certain information to the public. Town Manager Elaine Lazarus admitted in a prior interview that a CORI check was not performed when Sismanis applied for an entertainment license in 2018, even though the license policy requires one. The Select Board does have the capacity to waive the requirement, but it is unclear if a waiver actually was given.

NBC10 reported that Douglas Louison, an attorney representing the town, said town officials are not responsible for Sismanis’ behavior, and he filed a motion for them to be dismissed as defendants in the case.

Sismanis was convicted in June 2025 on indecent assault and battery on a person over 14 years of age and witness intimidation charges. After serving prison time, the Greece native was remanded into Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody. The ICE detainee locator database shows Sismanis is being held at the Imperial Regional Adult Detention Facility in Calexico, California.

Sismanis’ family closed the restaurant last September. A different pizza restaurant now owns the space.