An Entertainment Department staffer will not be prosecuted in connection with a Halloween incident at Brownwood Paddock Square.
The prosecutor’s office issued an announcement earlier this month that the evidence against 43-year-old Brian Joseph Mullany of Ocala is “legally insufficient” to prove his guilt. He had faced two counts of battery.
Mullany, who stands 6 feet 1 inch tall and weighs 250 pounds, was wearing a white-and-black clown costume and working as a “scare actor” in a haunted house at about 7 p.m. Oct. 23, according to an arrest report from the Wildwood Police Department.
A girl who had been in the haunted house told police that she had been shoved by Mullany, who has been working the haunted house for The Villages Entertainment for four years.
The girl told police that Mullany, who was wearing a clown mask, began to follow her and then, “Pushed me as hard as he can.” The child, who was in the haunted house with her sisters, said Mullany’s shove caused a “domino effect,” with another child being pushed into a wall. That child landed on her right knee, for which she has had two prior surgeries. She was evaluated by medical personnel at the scene and transported to the UF Health Emergency Room at Brownwood for further evaluation.
The girl who had been shoved had a “red and round imprinted mark along with scratches” on her lower back. Her mother completed a form indicating she wants to see Mullany prosecuted.
He denied the accusations.
“I follow the kids, but I do not touch them, I just stomp at them, or blow the horn, and scare the kids, never chasing them down,” Mullany told police.
He described his assignment at the haunted house as “scaring people.”
Mullany has played a key role at high profile events in The Villages over the past few years, notably the Christmas tree lighting events. Prior to joining The Villages Entertainment Department, Mullany worked for the special events department in the City of Inverness.