4:54 PM
A couple has sued the Texas assistant coach and his girlfriend, Danielle Thomas, saying that Thomas' monkey bit their child in the backyard of Banks' house on Halloween night.
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of the couple and their child. It seeks damages for defamation.
The child, identified as C.C., was invited to attend a haunted house after trick or treating with two friends. The child and his friends were taken to a monkey by Thomas after completing the haunted house. The child was told the monkey was trained to give high-fives.
The lawsuit states that Danielle Thomas's monkey aggressively bit down on C.C.'s hand and refused to let go, instead of giving a high five. C.C. was forced to open the monkey's jaw. C.C. was unable to see the full extent of the injury because of the amount of blood.
A physician lived nearby and treated the child's hand. The doctor and another neighbor went to Thomas to discuss the incident. The doctor told Thomas that a report would have to be filed with the health department and that additional information on the monkey's vaccine status would be appreciated so that an appropriate course of treatment for C.C. could be decided.
Danielle Thomas was worried about the risk of her monkey being taken away, instead of showing any semblance of care for an injured child. Danielle Thomas told the doctor that the monkey did not have the disease because she had bitten it before.
The child's family has not been provided with the monkey's vaccine records by Thomas.
The lawsuit states that Thomas is also known as "Pole Assassin", her stage name as a dancer. She was on "The Jerry Springer Show" with a monkey.
The lawsuit claims that Thomas made false statements on social media that the child didn't have permission to be on the property and that she told her guests to not enter the area where the monkey was.
Thomas wrote shortly after the incident, "I had a haunted house on one side off, he had no permission to go pass the gate I had no idea he went in my back yard, neither did I know anything about a bite." The doctor told me the treat was small. No parent has contacted me about it.
She said that an 11 year old child should know better to enter someone's yard without permission and be old enough to follow the rules. The rules were that when you get to the gate, turn around and come back out for candy, every other parent and child did the same.
Thomas deleted her account.
Banks just finished his first season as a Texas assistant head coach.
