Lawsuit claims poor security at Tinley Park concert venue led to teen's sexual assault

CHICAGO - A Chicago law firm has filed a lawsuit against Live Nation Entertainment and Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre in Tinley Park alleging a 16-year-old girl was sexually assaulted during a concert at the venue last summer because of inadequate security measures.

The backstory:

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday on behalf of the girl and her parents, alleges the teen attended a July 22, 2025, Wiz Khalifa and Sean Paul concert with a friend and the friend’s mother at the southwest suburban amphitheater.

According to the complaint, the teen was provided alcohol purchased at the venue by the friend’s mother. The lawsuit alleges the girl later walked toward the south side of the amphitheater to use a restroom when she was led into a restricted enclosed area and sexually assaulted.

The lawsuit and Tinley Park police identify the accused attacker as Roman Basso of southwest suburban Frankfort.

The complaint alleges Live Nation and the venue failed to:

• Maintain adequate security measures
• Implement safety policies for minors
• Prevent underage drinking
• Identify and remove predatory adults
• Properly secure and monitor restricted areas accessible to the public

The lawsuit seeks compensation for what it describes as severe and permanent emotional injuries, including emotional distress, humiliation, loss of self-esteem and ongoing medical and psychological treatment costs.

Timeline:

Tinley Park police said the investigation began July 24, 2025, after hospital staff in Ohio notified officers about the alleged assault.

Police said surveillance footage provided by Live Nation, witness statements and a forensic interview supported the victim’s account.

Police later identified the suspect as Basso, who they said was attending Arizona State University at the time. Tinley Park detectives coordinated with ASU police before Basso was arrested Jan. 6 in Frankfort. He was 18 at the time of his arrest.

According to police, Basso made a confession after being advised of his rights while in custody. He is charged with aggravated criminal sexual assault, a Class X felony.

Dig deeper:

The lawsuit argues the alleged assault reflects broader security concerns tied to Live Nation-related events.

The complaint references several deadly incidents connected to Live Nation promoted or hosted events over the past decade, including:

• The 2017 Ariana Grande concert bombing in Manchester, England
• The 2017 Las Vegas mass shooting during a Jason Aldean concert
• The 2021 Astroworld Festival crowd surge
• The 2021 fatal stabbing of rapper Drakeo the Ruler at a Los Angeles festival
• The 2023 Beyond Wonderland festival shooting

What they're saying:

LIve Nation issued this statement on the lawsuit: 

"The safety and security of our guests is our top priority. We cooperated fully with law enforcement regarding this case. As this matter involves ongoing litigation, we do not have anything further to share at this time." 

Breen & Pugh, a law firm that is representing Basso, has also released a statement, shared below: 

"Breen & Pugh does not, as a rule, comment publicly on pending matters. We make an exception today because counsel for the Plaintiff in the civil lawsuit against Live Nation and the Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre held a press conference that was rife with false statements about our client, Roman Basso — statements that are contradicted by the venue’s own surveillance video and, in critical respects, by the Plaintiff’s own statements to police.

"Who Mr. Basso actually is. Plaintiff’s counsel repeatedly referred to Mr. Basso as an "adult man." That characterization is misleading. At the time of the concert, Mr. Basso was an eighteen-year-old recent high school graduate, weeks away from beginning his freshman year at Arizona State University. The Plaintiff and her friend, by contrast, represented to Mr. Basso and his friends that they were students at Ohio State University.

"How the evening began. Mr. Basso and his friends met the Plaintiff and her friend at the concert. The Plaintiff flirted with Mr. Basso throughout the evening. Video taken by the Plaintiff herself shows the two of them watching the concert with their hands affectionately on each other.

"The alcohol and the vape pen. Plaintiff’s counsel told the press that her client was "given alcohol." That claim is false, and the Plaintiff’s own statements to police prove it. The Plaintiff and her friend told police that, before arriving at the venue, they drank vodka — supplied to them by the friend’s mother — out of a water bottle. They further admitted that they smuggled four Pink Whitney’s and a marijuana vape pen into the venue, all likewise supplied by the friend’s mother. Mr. Basso did not purchase, possess, or provide any alcohol or drugs to the Plaintiff at any point.

"Who followed whom. Plaintiff’s counsel claimed that Mr. Basso "followed" the Plaintiff to the restrooms. That is false. Venue surveillance video unambiguously shows the Plaintiff attempting to pull Mr. Basso into the women’s restroom. Mr. Basso politely declined.

"The "restricted area." Plaintiff’s counsel claimed that the Plaintiff was "brought into a restricted area." That is false. Venue surveillance video shows the Plaintiff pulling Mr. Basso into the area behind the restrooms — not the other way around.

"The most egregious claim of all. Plaintiff’s counsel claimed that Mr. Basso sexually assaulted the Plaintiff. That is false. Venue surveillance video shows the two young people consensually kissing, making out, and engaging in consensual sexual activity. The video then shows the Plaintiff and Mr. Basso walking out of that area together, holding hands.

"The entire encounter between Mr. Basso and the Plaintiff was captured on venue surveillance video, with the exception of an approximately thirty-second gap. There was no sexual assault. There was no "following." There was no "bringing" of the Plaintiff into a restricted area. There was no provision of alcohol or drugs by Mr. Basso. There is video.

"My client is an eighteen-year-old young man whose reputation has been recklessly attacked at a press conference held with no apparent investigation and in plain contradiction of the venue’s own surveillance video," said Todd S. Pugh, Managing Partner of Breen & Pugh. "We do not normally respond publicly to pending matters. But when counsel chooses to try a case through press conference using statements that the video and the Plaintiff’s own police report show to be false, silence is not an option. Every news organization handed these allegations should obtain and review the venue’s surveillance footage before repeating a single one of them," the statement reads.

FOX Chicago also reached out to the Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre for comment, but we have not heard back.

What's next:

The girl and her family are represented by Chicago law firm Wallace Miller. Attorney Molly Condon Wells is set to discuss the case publicly at 11 a.m. Tuesday. The event will be livestreamed in the video at the top of this story.

Crime and Public SafetyTinley ParkChicagoNews