SCRANTON – The mother of a New York boy alleges that two years ago, the minor child’s father negligently allowed him to be near and hold a venomous snake, which proceeded to then bite the young boy – but the boy's father denies that there were any snakes on his property at the time of the alleged incident.
E.J. (a minor, by his mother, Irina Mayman) of Staten Island, N.Y. filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania on Oct. 3 versus Robert Johnson, Maria Johnson and Gregory Johnson, all of Saylorsburg.
“E.J.’s Mother and defendant Johnson are husband and wife, but are separated. As part of a child custody order, defendant Gregory Johnson had partial custody of E.J. and his brother in the summers, including the summer of 2021. The minor child E.J. was born on Aug. 11, 2013 and was turning 8 years old on Aug. 11, 2021. Defendant Gregory Johnson engages in a hobby/small business of selling venomous snakes and has a license to do so. These snakes are kept on defendant Robert and Maria Johnson’s property. In August 2021, defendant Gregory Johnson gave his son EJ a snake to hold. The snake wrapped its tail around EJ’s wrist and bit EJ with its fangs,” the suit says.
“When the snake bit EJ, it did not let go, but buried its fang in the minor child’s right index finger. The minor child became extremely upset and started to bleed. Defendant Gregory Johnson stopped the bleeding and also administered anti-venom to the child’s wound. Defendant Gregory Johnson made the minor child EJ swear on the Bible that he would not tell anyone about this incident, and especially not to tell his Mother, Irina Mayman. The minor child did not tell his mother about the snake bite until February of 2022. The minor child also identified the snake from a photo from defendant Gregory Johnson’s snake catalog kept for his business. In the period between August 2021 and February 2022, the minor child began to show signs of increased anxiety, fear, nightmares and problems in school, that he never had prior to the snake bite incident. As the minor child’s problems continued to manifest, Mother became more and more concerned that there was something wrong with her child.”
The suit adds that after time went by, EJ could no longer hold in what happened at Father’s home and broke down and told his Mother – and that his Mother took EJ to his pediatrician and a neurologist, the latter due to a neurologist due to EJ’s nightmares and fear about being bitten by a snake.
“EJ was evaluated by a psychologist due to his high anxiety, fear and inability to cope at school due to his fear and anxiety. The psychologist, Virginia Boga, conducted the evaluation and concluded that EJ suffered from significant anxiety and attention issues related to the trauma of the snake bite and due to the fact that he had to withhold the information of the snake bite for so long due to defendant Gregory Johnson’s demands of the child. The evaluation also recommended that EJ have an IEP so help EJ work through his anxiety. PTSD and fear due to the snake bite and having to withhold the information of the snake bite. EJ has been in counseling since February 2022 and is currently seeing a pediatric psychiatrist who specializes with trauma with children. The medical bills for EJ’s counseling thus far amount to over $30,000 and continue to accumulate. Defendants all knew that defendant Gregory Johnson bought and sold venomous snakes. Defendants Robert and Maria Johnson permitted their son, defendant Gregory Johnson to keep the snakes on their property and to allow the minor child to have access to these venomous snakes,” the suit states.
“Defendant Gregory Johnson knew that the snake that he gave to EJ to hold was venomous and could bite him. Despite this knowledge of the danger venomous snakes could cause to a young child, defendant Gregory Johnson negligently gave a venomous snake to his young son to hold. After the snake bite, all defendants covered up the fact the minor child was bitten by the snake and instructed the minor child not to tell anyone, especially his mother, Irina Mayman. After the snake bite, defendant Gregory Johnson, made the minor child swear on the Bible that he would never tell anyone about the snake bite, especially the minor child’s mother. Defendant Gregory Johnson’s mandate that the minor child not disclose what happened with the snake has caused severe emotional harm to the child, along with the mental harm and anguish caused by the actual snake bite. Due to the negligence, recklessness and carelessness of defendants, the minor child. EJ has suffered and will continue to suffer PTSD, mental anguish, anxiety, fear and severe emotional distress for the foreseeable future. Due to the negligence, recklessness and carelessness of defendants, as described above, the minor child will continue to accumulate medical bills and charges well into the foreseeable future.”
UPDATE
The boy’s father, defendant Gregory Johnson, denied the lawsuit’s claims and that there were snakes on the premises, and indicated that the lawsuit is the latest chapter in a long-running custody dispute with his former partner, the plaintiff, over their children.
Records provided by Johnson from a custody hearing which took place in May 2022, showed Johnson testified he had not kept snakes in his home since 2019, and though he had done so in the past, he had not since moving into his parents’ home in early 2020.
A Monroe County Children & Youth Services employee named Jenna Moore also testified at that custody hearing that she conducted an interview with the boy in February 2022, where he initially denied receiving a snake bite, before changing his mind that he had been bitten by a snake and had been given a bandage to treat the bite. Moore and a colleague, Victoria Lipyanic, had testified during a prior family court proceeding that, in their view, the boy’s snake bite claim was without merit.
Johnson’s custody hearing testimony also outlined that in August 2021, he had given his children a complete tour of the property to show that there were no snakes on the premises.
“I showed the boys all over the house, the property, the garage, the outbuilding that there were no – that I did not have any snakes or own any snakes and there were no snakes on the property,” Johnson said at the hearing.
Furthermore, the presiding judge previously ordered that Mayman receive therapy for Munchausen’s Syndrome by Proxy, an illness where a care provider invents medical issues in order to receive positive attention – and that both Mayman and Johnson would share custody of their children.
For counts of negligence, the plaintiff is seeking damages in excess of $50,000, plus interest fees and costs and any additional relief the court deems equitable and just.
The plaintiff is represented by Robin J. Gray of the Law Office of Robin J. Gray, in Wyomissing.
The defendants are represented by Gerard J. Geiger of Newman Williams, in Stroudsburg.
U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania case 3:23-cv-01636
From the Pennsylvania Record: Reach Courts Reporter Nicholas Malfitano at nick.malfitano@therecordinc.com