For a Second Time, Stage Manager Charged with Sexual Abuse of a Child
by Chris Peterson, OnStage Blog Founder
TW: This story contains details of the sexual abuse of children.
This past June, stage manager Sean Szaller (who professionally goes by Sean Francis Patrick) was charged in Ohio with 12 counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor in multiple incidents spanning from October 2009 to March 2011, according to an indictment unsealed last week. This is the second time Szaller has been hit with charges involving inappropriate contact with a minor. In 2013, Szaller plead guilty to assault charges involving a minor.
When the new charges were filed, Szaller was working as a stage manager of a production of Mary Poppins, a show that includes children in the cast.
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As mentioned above, this is not the first time Sean Szaller has been accused of sexually abusing a child. In 2013, allegations were brought forward that a former staff member at Magnificat High School in Rocky River, OH, had sexual contact with a student. That former staff member was Sean Szaller.
The student claimed that Szaller had sexually abused her in the parking lot of the school. At the time, Szaller had already left the school to pursue a career in New York but had returned to the school when the abuse took place. Szaller was initially charged with gross sexual imposition, a felony, but charges were lessened to misdemeanor assault with his guilty plea. He was sentenced to 20 days in jail, five years of probation and did not have to register as a sex offender.
Following his sentence, Szaller would go on to have a consistent career under the name “Sean Francis Patrick”, which he legally changed his name to. He worked in both regional and off-Broadway productions as a stage manager, director and producer. Just two years after his conviction - while still on probation, Szaller worked on multiple shows with children. He stage managed a Long Island production of Mary Poppins, was the production stage manager for a production of Gypsy at the same theatre, and even directed a production of 13 The Musical.
He also worked on the off-Broadway Yiddish production of Fiddler on the Roof. He also produced a concert of Into the Woods and worked at other prominent theatres such as 5959 and the Bucks County Playhouse in PA.
In 2021, Szaller filed a motion to seal his conviction. Court records show Rocky River Municipal Court Judge Donna Congeni Fitzsimmons denied the motion after a hearing in which the former student and her family talked about the impact Szaller’s conduct had on her life. During that hearing, the student said that she “would not want to see another person experience the trauma she experienced.” Szaller’s attempt to erase information about his past from the public eye, was denied.
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This past June, Szaller was charged in an indictment in Cuyahoga County, OH. The allegations were that Szaller had sexually abused a child when he was 14-years-old from 2009 to 2011. The victim said the abuse began when he was in a theatre program that Szaller ran, the Fairmount Performing Arts Conservatory. The victim reported that the abuse happened in multiple locations including the conservatory’s theatre space and his grandparents’ home.
When charges were brought down, Szaller(again, working as Sean Francis Patrick), was stage managing a production of Mary Poppins in North Carolina. That show ran at the Martin Marietta Center for the Performing Arts July 25-30, 2023. He is currently listed as stage manager for a production of Tootsie at the Ogunquit Playhouse in ME.
It is unclear if Szaller disclosed his arrest to theatre officials. There is no information available that shows he was fired or left the show. Personally, I would very much like to know if he did disclose his arrest and what was done about it.
But the important thing to remember here is that because of the details of his conviction and his probation expiring, (for the Mary Poppins production) he wasn’t required to disclose those details. Had he been convicted of a felony, he would have, but he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor.
Also, with his legal name now, “Sean Francis Patrick”, Szaller was able to work on productions with children and seemingly did not disclose information about his conviction or arrest with theatres and production teams.
Why? Because for all they knew, his name was “Sean Francis Patrick”, or they didn’t do the due diligence to perform proper background checks on adult staff working in the presence of children. While Broadway may have these mechanisms in place, many smaller regional theatres do not and this is where convicted abusers or current abusers thrive.
We’ve seen stories this past year where registered sex offenders and other abusers thrive in theatre because groups don’t have the knowledge, resources, or process to properly provide safety for children in their spaces.
We must prioritize the safety and well-being of young performers. The performing arts hold immense potential for personal growth and artistic development among children and the last thing that should happen is for them to be abused while they’re pursuing it.
I will update this story as more information becomes available.