Woman alleges Waffle House CEO demanded sex acts
ATLANTA (AP) — A former female employee has filed a police complaint alleging the CEO of Waffle House demanded she perform sexual acts on him in exchange for keeping her job.
The woman told Atlanta police the alleged harassment by Joseph Rogers Jr. lasted for nearly 10 years, from 2003 through June of this year. The Associated Press does not identify alleged victims of sexual harassment.
David Cohen, who identified himself as a lawyer representing the woman, told the AP that the man cited in the police report is the CEO of Waffle House, a company based in metro Atlanta. And the home address given for Rogers in the police report matches that listed on the Federal Election Commission's website alongside donations the CEO made to unsuccessful presidential candidate Mitt Romney in June 2011 and May of this year.
Police would not confirm that the Joseph Rogers Jr. cited in their report is the CEO. They said Thursday that they are investigating the allegations, but no charges have been filed. A lawyer for Rogers did not return a telephone call and email from the AP on Thursday.
The police report quotes the woman as saying that Rogers tried to force her to have sex with him despite her repeated protests. She said that he also touched her breasts, tried to remove her clothes, made lewd comments, and insisted she perform sex acts on him at least once or twice a month. The woman, who identified herself as a single mother, told police she stayed in the job and endured the alleged harassment because she couldn't find other employment with comparable pay. She said she gave Rogers a letter of resignation in June after her son secured a full college scholarship.
The woman filed her complaint after walking into an Atlanta police precinct about midnight on Sept. 28, according to the police report. Cohen said he couldn't comment further on the case because of a judge's order.
The Marietta Daily Journal reported that Rogers sued the woman in Cobb County Superior Court on Sept. 14, but that the documents had been sealed and both sides agreed not to speak to the news media. The newspaper added that the woman filed a lawsuit against Rogers in Fulton County State Court on Sept. 19, but documents in that case were also sealed.
Robert Ingram, whom the newspaper identified as a lawyer for Rogers, did not return a telephone call and email from the AP on Thursday evening. The newspaper quoted Ingram as saying that Rogers' "version of events is much different" than the woman's.
No one answered a cellphone listed to Rogers and a phone number listed for Waffle House's headquarters rang unanswered.
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Associated Press writer Russ Bynum contributed to this report.
The woman told Atlanta police the alleged harassment by Joseph Rogers Jr. lasted for nearly 10 years, from 2003 through June of this year. The Associated Press does not identify alleged victims of sexual harassment.
David Cohen, who identified himself as a lawyer representing the woman, told the AP that the man cited in the police report is the CEO of Waffle House, a company based in metro Atlanta. And the home address given for Rogers in the police report matches that listed on the Federal Election Commission's website alongside donations the CEO made to unsuccessful presidential candidate Mitt Romney in June 2011 and May of this year.
Police would not confirm that the Joseph Rogers Jr. cited in their report is the CEO. They said Thursday that they are investigating the allegations, but no charges have been filed. A lawyer for Rogers did not return a telephone call and email from the AP on Thursday.
The police report quotes the woman as saying that Rogers tried to force her to have sex with him despite her repeated protests. She said that he also touched her breasts, tried to remove her clothes, made lewd comments, and insisted she perform sex acts on him at least once or twice a month. The woman, who identified herself as a single mother, told police she stayed in the job and endured the alleged harassment because she couldn't find other employment with comparable pay. She said she gave Rogers a letter of resignation in June after her son secured a full college scholarship.
The woman filed her complaint after walking into an Atlanta police precinct about midnight on Sept. 28, according to the police report. Cohen said he couldn't comment further on the case because of a judge's order.
The Marietta Daily Journal reported that Rogers sued the woman in Cobb County Superior Court on Sept. 14, but that the documents had been sealed and both sides agreed not to speak to the news media. The newspaper added that the woman filed a lawsuit against Rogers in Fulton County State Court on Sept. 19, but documents in that case were also sealed.
Robert Ingram, whom the newspaper identified as a lawyer for Rogers, did not return a telephone call and email from the AP on Thursday evening. The newspaper quoted Ingram as saying that Rogers' "version of events is much different" than the woman's.
No one answered a cellphone listed to Rogers and a phone number listed for Waffle House's headquarters rang unanswered.
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Associated Press writer Russ Bynum contributed to this report.
"... donations the CEO made to unsuccessful presidential candidate Mitt Romney in June 2011 and May of this year."...Is it necessary or even helpful to the story to add in the "unsuccessful" ?
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What makes no sense to me is that this woman has accused the CEO of sexual harassment for nearly 10 years..and is just now filing charges? I would venture to guess that at some point these two had a "relationship" that went sideways and she now wants to rake him over the coals deservedly or not.
 @aintno1special Yeah, but sexual harassment like this works, and works for a long time, because the person who is demanding it has considerable power over the other person. She says she needs the job for her livelihood. I'd bet considerable money that this fellow, being that he is a CEO, can be persuasive. If she left she may have risked having a lousy reference, no money, and poor reputation and a lot of shame hanging over her head. If she said no she could lack the same things. I would also bet that the CEO didn't target someone who is unusually assertive, and let's face it: most women are raised to be pretty compliant. I believe it. Why would she make it up? She's not going to look good regardless of whether it is true or not.The point is that it is really easy to abuse power and to get away with it.
 @Chris I agree totally, I am just questioning the one sided sexual harassment. I believe as you pointed out this guy more than likely has abused his authority, but I was guessing she was at some point in time a willing participant...and mind you I am not blaming her, just have personally seen this situations happen and again like you said no one comes out looking good...well except for the attorney's bank account.