Residents and members of nearby communities plan to gather near Town Hall this Saturday to protest against what they perceive as a lack of accountability from both the Select Board and the Hopkinton Police Department.

Marie Laskowsky, one of the organizers of the protest, said it aims to address questions about an alleged neglect of the HPD’s duties when it comes to vetting business in town that apply for common victualer’s (CV) licenses.

“Why did the Hopkinton Police Department sign the [CV] license renewal for a child sex offender … when his conviction and sex offender classifications were sitting at the exact same database our officers use to run a background check for every single license in town?” Laskowsky asked.

The sex offender in question is Petros “Peter” Sismanis, the former owner of Hillers Pizza. Sismanis was found guilty earlier this year of assault and battery on a person over 14 years of age and two counts of witness intimidation. He was alleged to have grabbed and kissed a then-16-year-old employee in the basement of Hillers Pizza in 2023.

Sismanis has been convicted of a similar crime before. In 1998, he pleaded guilty to indecent assault and battery of a 19-year-old employee who worked at Jelly Doughnuts, another of his former restaurants in Hopkinton. As a result of that case, he was required to register as a sex offender.

Since Sismanis’ conviction, residents have been asking why the pizza shop owner was allowed obtain and renew his CV license for HIllers Pizza and work around minors despite his status as a convicted sex offender.

The Select Board has been reviewing the CV licensing process during its last few meetings. The HPD is one of the town departments involved in that process for both new and renewed licenses.

“They were asked ever year and yet chose to keep the information to themselves,” alleged Laskowsky. “They had ample opportunities to come forward.”

Laskowsky said that she and other protestors are asking for an independent, outside investigation of Police Chief Joseph Bennett and others in the HPD chain of command. Her hope is for greater transparency and better explanations about why Sismanis’ sex offender registration was never shared with the town.

“People are … frustrated and they want to be heard,” she said. “The town deserves answers.”

Added Laskowsky: “We are not going to be deflected. We’re done with the lectures and we’re done with the silence, and we deserve to know why.”

The protest will take place from noon-1:30 p.m in front of Town Hall. Organizers will have signs available. Laskowsky said that a team from NBC10 Boston, which has reported on the story in recent weeks, may show up to document the protest.