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Kane County Chronicle

3rd civil lawsuit filed against Batavia chiropractor accused of secretly videotaping patients

Action seeks more than $16.5M for three generations of four plaintiffs

Batavia chiropractor David H. Hanson was charged following a Nov. 5, 2025, search of his office after authorities alleged he secretly videotaped more than 180 of his patients, including children, as they undressed or were nude. Police said the victims were mostly women and girls.

A third law firm has filed a civil action lawsuit against a Batavia chiropractor, who is accused of secretly recording patients, including minors, while they were naked.

Romanucci & Blandin filed a 44-page complaint Nov. 24 on behalf of a mother, her two minor children and their grandmother against David H. Hanson and Hanson Family Chiropractic, seeking more than $16.5 million.

As in the other two lawsuits, the plaintiffs are identified only as Jane Doe.

“Our family is in complete disbelief that someone we turned to for help and healing appears to have violated us in this way,” according to a statement from Jane Doe 1, released by the law firm at a Tuesday news conference.

“And for so many members of our own family to be exploited raises serious questions about how many others may have also been harmed,” according to Jane Doe’s statement. “The actions of this chiropractor have seriously diminished our community’s trust in healthcare providers.”

Felony charges against Hanson allege that he secretly recorded more than 180 of his patients, mostly women and young girls, as they were undressed or were nude, as part of a treatment known as near-infrared therapy. He was also charged with possessing materials depicting child sexual abuse, unrelated to recordings of patients, officials said.

Speaking at the news conference, Antonio Romanucci decried the frequency of cases involving secret recordings of people while they were disrobing or nude.

“It seems that we have told this story before about hidden cameras being in places where they shouldn’t be,” Romanucci said.

“And when you look at why we are telling this story today, it is because we are likening this to a plague. It is a plague that is afflicting our communities,” Romanucci said. “We aim to stop it.”

In another case of alleged secret filming, the law firm is representing 11 teenage girls in a civil action against an Addison ice cream store owner who allegedly secretly recorded them changing clothes in the restroom.

Flavor Frenzy owner Steven Weisberg is also facing criminal charges.

Romanucci said a solution is strengthening the laws regarding a susceptible person in a compromised situation when they don’t know they are being recorded.

“Legislation will be the vaccine for this problem,” Romanucci said.

State Rep. Curtis Tarver II, D-Chicago, also speaking at the news conference, said he would bring legislation forward next week called the Protecting Children from Hidden Cameras Act.

The legislation would be a civil statute that would hold people and businesses accountable, prohibiting hidden cameras from restrooms, locker rooms, medical treatment rooms and other areas where people have an expectation of privacy.

“It would target covert spy devices that are designed to record without notice. ... It would require clean on-site disclosures anywhere a business records its customers or its employees,” Tarver said. “It will add hidden camera screening to safety inspections. ... It will state clearly that recording a child is traumatic. That means the law will recognize the harm automatically ... because the violation is just that severe.”

Tarver said he expects the legislation to require hidden camera inspections be conducted in the same as annual fire and elevator safety inspections.

Among the allegations in the new lawsuit are invasion of privacy, negligence, breach of fiduciary duty, intentional infliction of emotional distress, consumer fraud and premises liability.

Romanucci’s complaint is scheduled for a case management conference on Feb. 10.

The other two civil cases are scheduled for case management on Jan. 27 and Jan. 28.

Circuit clerk records do not show an attorney representing Hanson in the civil cases.

Hanson is scheduled to appear in court on the criminal charges Jan. 8.

Brenda Schory

Brenda Schory

Brenda Schory covers Geneva, crime and courts, and features for the Kane County Chronicle