Korn concertgoer arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting teen at show

One 44-year-old man attending a Korn show in Cleveland has been arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting a teen at the gig. 

A 19-year-old woman reported the assault at Blossom Music Center during the concert of Alice in Chains, Korn and Underoath at about 11 p.m. She provided a photo of the suspect to officers, who was later identified as Ryan H. Bollas. 

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While the exact details of the incident are unknown, Bollas turned himself in and was charged with the third-degree felony of sexual imposition. He is facing up to five years in prison if convicted. 

He is scheduled to appear for a pre-trial hearing on Sept. 10. 

Korn and Alice in Chains will tour through the end of the month. You can see the full list of dates here.

Many artists have stressed the importance of understanding consent, especially in concert settings, to prevent incidents such as this. 

Prior to Sad Summer Festival, the organizers unveiled rules for the event regarding consent and their policies surrounding sexual assault/harassment.

The festival teamed up with OurMusicMyBody, an organization that promotes people having positive and safe experiences in music environments, to make the rules.  The rules state that the festival has a “zero-tolerance policy for sexual assault and harassment of any kind.” 

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They then go on to state examples of what is considered under that umbrella. 

“This includes, but is not limited to, intimidation, non-consensual photography or recording, stalking, physical assault or battery, rape, repeated disruption of festival events, unwelcome attention or physical contact, bathroom policing, and offensive language used as a method of violence directed at any individual due to, but not limited to, their sexual orientation, race, religion, appearance or physical attributes, disability, citizenship or nationality, gender, gender identity, gender presentation, or age.” 

They also ensured patrons that the festival staff would take immediate action in any cases that are reported in order to maintain a “fun and safe” experience for everyone. 

You can read the full rules here.

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Also, back in May, AltPress spoke with War On Women singer Shawna Potter about shows needing to be more of a safe space for women, since many assaults occur at venues. She wrote a book Making Spaces Safer about methods for making shows safer and for venue owners and bystanders to assist in the elimination of harassment.

“Since being harassed, discriminated against or inappropriately touched since puberty, I obviously have a personal relationship with harassment. I have my own thoughts and feelings about it and my own journey, from how I deal with it and how I live with it. And that’s what certainly got into my activism. I got into the social justice world due to my feelings of being fed up with being harassed.”

“And what I finally discovered was other people were harassed too, and it’s not just this weird thing that I go through, and there are so many of us experiencing this, that’s when I began to pick up the mantle of anti-street harassment in Baltimore.”

“Through that I heard many stories of how pervasive it is: how it affects people who don’t look like me, how common it is, how horrible it could be. I wanted to do something more than just raise awareness. Training venues over the past five years, I’ve perfected my workshop.”

“I fine-tuned it to what people actually need to hear and how they need to hear it in order to take in the information—what I need them to do to help victims of harassment is worth doing, and it makes an impact. Your average person might pick it up, but they might need to hear some numbers.”

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“I’d need to back it up. So I did the research, did the digging and found the stats. I found the proof that what I’m doing didn’t come up out of thin air; it was based on research and real needs. I’ve been doing this training for years: It’s actionable and real.” 

You can read the full interview here and find out more about her book. 

If you or someone you know is struggling, there is help to be found. Please consider the following resources:

The National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-SAFE (7233)
The National Sexual Assault Hotline: 1-800-656-HOPE (4673)
RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network) Chat
MentalHealth.gov – Get Immediate Help
ImAlive – Online Crisis Network
International Association For Suicide Prevention – Resources
The Anxiety And Depression Association Of America
The National Alliance On Mental Illness
American Psychiatric Association – Finding Help
National Institute Of Mental Health
American Psychological Association – Psychologist locator

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