Waffle House Sex Scandal: CEO Denies Claims by Former Employee
The CEO of Waffle House has adamantly denied all allegations that he sexually harassed and threatened a former employee. Joe W. Rogers Jr. has labeled the claims "false" and "extortion" by a disgruntled former employee, whose name is being withheld by media.
"I am a victim of my own stupidity, but I am not going to be a victim of crime – extortion," Rogers said in a written statement. "That was wrong of me, and I am very sorry for the pain and embarrassment I've caused my wife and family. There's no excuse for what I have done," he added.
Rogers has been accused of fondling a former employee and demanding that she perform sexual acts in order to keep her job. The woman filed a complaint back in September, but is now pursuing seeking more in damages from the CEO.
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According to police reports, the alleged victim said she "stayed in the job and endured the alleged harassment because she couldn't find other employment with comparable pay." The woman worked for Rogers for close to 10 years, only quitting once her son entered college on a scholarship.
Rogers has said the woman is a former housekeeper who is blatantly lying.
"Over an almost eight-year period when I was separated, single and re-married, I had a series of infrequent consensual sexual encounters with my housekeeper," he said.
After she quit her job, Rogers "received a letter from her attorney containing false allegations and strong threats. According to her attorneys," he said," she now wants millions of dollars from me."
Rogers and the alleged victim have already been in court once after filing suits against one another, but those documents are sealed. Now, though, there is new evidence that the woman broke court orders to tell her story and pursue another lawsuit.
The woman claims to have videotapes of Rogers in intimate situations, which the court has already demanded she hand over. The tapes are illegal in Georgia, which is where they were made, and Rogers' attorney plans to make sure his client's privacy is protected.
"We understand [Rogers] is obviously trying to spin his wrongful actions in some positive light," the woman's attorney, David Cohen, told the Associated Press. "We believe attempting to attack the victim will only make matters worse and that the parties just need to let a jury decide the issues."
