A woman in Atlanta has filed a police report against Waffle House CEO Joseph Rogers Jr., claiming that he forced her to have sex with him and perform sexual acts on him from 2003 until June of this year in order to keep her job. The woman, a single mother, says she was constantly groped and harassed and that once or twice a month she would be forced to perform sex acts on the CEO. She says that she stayed on the job because she could not find anything with comparable pay or benefits and that she finally resigned in June because her son got a full college scholarship. The CEO of waffle House and the woman have competing lawsuits against each other too, but those lawsuits are sealed which means there is probably some really good stuff in them. You would think this dirty old man could get his rocks off somewhere else with his money and not have to make the lives of his employees miserable. This kind of stuff makes me sick. He knows the woman can't quit and takes advantage of that fact. You don't think the day she resigned in June was not the happiest day of her life? I hope she told the guy to f**k off in the letter.
If he is found guilty, of course
ReplyDeleteGirl, there were so many ways of entrapping (video, recording cellphone calls, etc)the bastard, and landing a financial windfall it makes no sense why she just took it for all that time.
ReplyDeletei dont understand the length of time this went on! I understand that she needed a job but u couldnt find another job in 10 years! @Montana is right she could of done so many things to get him. Why file now? I have so many questions!
ReplyDeleteHe forced her? Did he hold a gun to her head? You can always learn to live on less money, she was a fool to stay if the situation was what she claimed.
ReplyDeleteThis is one of those times I wish Enty would provide the source article. Either there are some big details left out of his account of the issue, or there is something really fishy about the lawsuit.
ReplyDeleteSo glad to see all the blame going to the victim, and not, you know, the rapist.
ReplyDelete@Alice Tate, yeah that's how it works around here. For every 10 slut shaming comments, there will be 1 or 2 standing up for the victim. This place is FULL of women hating women, it's sad.
DeleteIt shocks me every time
DeleteThank you!!!!! Really, wtf people?
Delete@alicetate I presume you're not including me as my comment was that it is an accusation not a guilty verdict and as such we shouldn't be blaming anyone yet
DeleteSarah, no, that wasn't aimed at you. I stand by what I said, but I can see this isn't the forum for it. Peace.
Delete@alicetate thank you!
DeleteWhatever happened here, his biggest crime is what he has done to the arteries of Bubba's & Sissy's all over the south. That's the one that will get him in the short line to Hell.
ReplyDeleteApparently she worked out of his home, managing his property. He sued her in mid-September, before she filed the police report. I don't think I'd be so quick to rush to judgment here, Enty.
ReplyDeleteAre sexual harassment cases usually handled by the police? I thought the victim sued or complained to the EEOC.
@Alice - based on the presented information, we don't know whether or not he is a rapist. And, based on the presented information, people are simply asking questions. It's okay to put away your Jump To Conclusions mat now.
ReplyDeleteSolid Office Space ref. OT but I had an awesome friend in junior high that made me a Jump to Conclusions mat for my birthday.
DeleteSource article:
ReplyDeletehttp://mdjonline.com/view/full_story/20755042/article-Acworth-woman-says-CEO-forced-her-into-sex-acts?instance=home_top_bullets
I don't know. I left a good job with benefits in my late 20's as a single mom because I didn't like the way I was being treated, and it was nothing near as bad as this. There are always options, IMO.
ReplyDeleteI4 you aren't in the shoes, don't judge. That's all I have to say.
ReplyDeletealso found this:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/09/waffle-house-ceo-sex-acts_n_2099438.html?utm_hp_ref=business
googling: waffle house CEO sex
@Jamie 2 - thank you for the link! Without knowing details, it's tough to know what to think. He may have pre-emptively sued her for something/anything knowing that she was going to sue/file police report. Someone in his position is going to have a lot better resources than she does, and maybe his attorneys advised him to do it in order to drag her through the mud first??
ReplyDelete@Amber, fair enough, but still there are several comments that take the story at face value and say that she was at fault for not putting an end to it. It's a clear illustration of how society tells you "don't get raped" instead of "don't rape." It's alarming. But hopefully it's not true and they're just two users sorting out grudges or something.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't agree with you more Alice. You are 100% right.
DeleteI saw this last night on huffington post:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/09/waffle-house-ceo-sex-acts_n_2099438.html?utm_hp_ref=business
You have to wonder what are in the sealed documents.
The oddest part seems that she quit in June, he sued her in early September and end of September she files the police complaint.
I'm not blaming anyone, Alice Tate. I just have questions about how you can be forced to stay with a job where someone is sexually harassing you. And of course we take the story at face value, that's all we have to work with here. Get out of your snit and unwad your panties, nobody here is cheering the rapists on.
ReplyDeletehttp://m.yahoo.com/w/legobpengine/news/woman-alleges-waffle-house-ceo-demanded-sex-acts-025616645.html?.nx=count%3D5%26sortBy%3Dlatest%26exprKey%3DDescending%3A04b27cb3-2e77-3423-ba2d-d0be960f0fd0-1352474863090-a439e3b0-e3b8-425d-bdd3-fd12435f4d5b%3A04b27cb3-2e77-3423-ba2d-d0be960f0fd0-1352470387888-17407494-0fa9-4ea0-89f6-0ee1a54ab2d3%26isNext%3Dtrue%26pageNumber%3D1&.ts=1352475064&.intl=US&.lang=en&.ysid=gHHFBIGWmnTcRW..SodYCBRY
ReplyDeleteHe sued her and case was sealed 2 weeks prior to her filing charges
@Amber: I really don't know what to think. I actually know of a scurvy 80-something multi-millionaire down here who is known to walk around the house naked in front of the staff (including female staff). He likes to hire illegal workers and pays them in cash, very generously. They put up with it.
ReplyDeleteIn the course of 10 years she couldn't have gotten an online degree (or upper degree) that would have enabled her to get a better job somewhere else?
ReplyDeleteSorry, but if you're willing to put up with alleged sexual harassment for almost a decade because of how well it pays, you're pretty much a prostitute at this point and no hooker enjoys her job.
ReplyDeleteI save my sympathy for women who immediately file a complaint against their boss and not try to cash in.
Sorry, I've clearly been reading too much Jezebel lately. I'm gonna go deprogram myself.
ReplyDeleteI have no doubt he's the kind of pig who'd get off on having power over someone like that, but 9 years? Give me a break.
ReplyDeleteWe have a very robust safety net in this country,that provides for single women and their children. She should have accused and sued him after the first incident; now it looks like she stayed for a big payoff.
She made a choice to put up with what he was doing to her for the money and benefits, plain and simple, and now she wants even more money. Doesn't excuse what he did, but she made a choice to continue being treated that way.
But if the old guy used his money to have sex with someone else, as suggested, he would just be making her life miserable instead. He should only have sex with other CEOs. Then he isn't abusing his power & position.
ReplyDelete@Jamie - Oh ick!!! It's so interesting/weird to see how out of touch with reality people can become with the more riches they amass. They can turn into total eccentrics, to put it politely. :) That being said, wouldn't it be nice to get to walk around naked all day long? haha
ReplyDeleteShe also quit in June, was sued by him which was finalized and sealed in mid September and only then did she file charges. I would sympathize more if she filed when she quit vs after she was sued.
ReplyDeletei don't know what happened in this case, but i'm pretty appalled at some of the attitudes here. this woman had a son to support. she needed that job and apparently couldn't afford to lose the benefits---which she needed to take care of her child.
ReplyDeleteif you don't understand that women CAN be and ARE victimized in this way, then i don't know what to say. it's like doubting any woman who doesn't report a rape immediately----you don't understand it, maybe, if you haven't been there.
Thank you nancer!!! Abuse can be a long term and on going thing!! What about the women who get kidnapped, forced into sexual slavery and then after sometime begin to go out in public and actually defend their abusers? Are they as evil called them " prostitutes " ? The level of sensitivity here is pretty grotesque. And I've been on this site for at least six years.. This is bad :(
DeleteLook how well classifying degrees of rape, legitimate and god's will, did this last election. Always wondered about the women who voted for those guys.
ReplyDeleteWhat Nancer said and Katie, too. *smh* at the judgyness.
ReplyDeleteThanks, nancer. You said it so eloquently.
ReplyDeleteSpare me your holier than thou bull. When I was in college, I had two professors who offered me As for sex. I turned them in. My 2nd job, some asshole tried to intimidate me in to blowjobs for raises. Turned him in.
ReplyDeleteI do absolutely believe some women are very easily intimidated and by nature more fearful, but she fully admitted she stayed because of the money and benefits. Am I misreading that? She said she couldn't fond anything else comparable. She didn't say she was in fear for her life, and was scared. She said she couldn't find a better job.
Some people would call that whoring yourself. I say she did what she felt she had to do, and I don't judge her for it, I just think it's hypocritical to sue him.
Actually, I think most (not all) people here are witholding judgment.
ReplyDeleteEnty is the one being judgmental by assuming everything in her allegations is true. The added facts show that the man involved has also sued her (and before she filed the police report), and that she worked for him for ten freaking years. We don't have the facts to judge what went on, one way or the other.
Here's the police report. They released her name to the media, My Brooke Brindle.
ReplyDeleteThe police report on pdf:
http://acworth.patch.com/articles/acworth-woman-alleges-waffle-house-ceo-forced-her-to-perform-sex-acts#pdf-12096753
Thanks @Agent!
ReplyDeleteI'm not judging anyone. But seems many are already stringing him up. My best guess, both are guilty of some very bad behavior. Keep in mind she filed the report in September and no charges have been filed yet. I believe there is so much more to this story than what we have been shown. Could be a really interesting story worthy of a lifetime movie
ReplyDelete@lazyday: don't appreciate you referring to citizens of the south as Bubba's and Sissy's. Very cliche and trite.
ReplyDeleteI'm not judging her but something doesn't add up.
ReplyDeleteIf you're working as the Executive Assistant or whatever to a corporate CEO, you have skills and experience to find another job in TEN YEARS TIME.
How many times around here have we called bullshit on strippers and escorts who claim to have no other way to make money??
Something in the milk ain't clean!
Sounds like she didn't want to take a paycut and have to make what the rest of us have to make due on. And if that's the case, fine. No slut shame here just pointing out that something doesn't add up.
And he's a dirty old dick for trying that shit.
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ReplyDeleteI used to live in Atlanta. All I know is that they make a fine waffle and that Waffle House is one of the few places I always felt comfortable going to at 3 in the morning. And an interesting assortment of people they would have at that time
ReplyDeleteHe did it because she allowed it. She put up with it for the money. If she had told ANYONE, even her son, she could have gotten help some time in the last ten years. Yes, the guy is scum. But they were clearly using EACH OTHER for their own reasons. I've seen this story, it was called '9 to 5'. If she didn't want to hogtie him for 10 years, that's her business. But it gives her less sympathy.
ReplyDeleteWow .. Now .. Assuming for a moment he IS guilty.. He gets a pass.. Because the victim " allowed " it and you know.. Took faaaar to long to report it. You people have no clue what this woman's social or economic past is which may be a huge contributing factor. Many abusers play psychological warfare as well as physical on their victims .. But why consider that? It's obviously her fault.. Ok.. My morning sickness will not allow me to further check on this thread.. I may actually vomit.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI understand why some of you are up in arms that we're not all defending her. But according to the information available about this case, she was NOT abused and forced into sexual slavery. She was NOT held against her will at any time. She was NOT tied up and raped. I know some of you want to throw all instances of a man abusing his powers for sex into the RAPE and SLAVERY pool, but that's not right.
ReplyDeleteWith that being said, who knows what her other job prospects were, and who knows how psychologically unstable the situation made her or if his harassment instilled fear in her about not being able to get away. So I won't judge her for not feeling like she could get away But some of these comparisons are very, very unfair. Not to the a-hole CEO but to the women who actually could not get away from their abusers for reasons other than fear of making less money and getting worse benefits.
Nope, sorry, not gonna boo hoo the victim here. She did in fact LET it go on for almost ten years, and yes, that does make her a prostitute of sorts. If it were me, I might have been scared and confused and gone along once or twice too. After that, if you don't have the cojones to go after the creep at the very least you get out or you live with your choice.
ReplyDeleteInteresting that virtually the first line of the police report includes the accused's net worth. What's that doing in a police report?
ReplyDeleteAlso, the work she was hired to do is unskilled - run errands, arrange for repairs, typical housekeeping work. A good housekeeper has no problem finding a new job. The problem is it's usually not well-paid.
Yet this woman managed to support herself and her son (the child's father didn't contribute) by working 30 hours a week? She must have been paid way beyond normal. If she didn't realize she was being paid that much b/c other "services" were required of her on the day she was hired, she certainly knew the first time he made a move on her. [If she'd quit and sued then, I'd be the first to defend her.]
After that, her decision to stay was purely a financial one.
@Alicia: You can't remotely compare this to sexual slavery or Stockholm syndrome. This woman was not kidnapped, was not enslaved, went home every day and returned the next for nine years. And far from defending her "abuser," the first thing she did after leaving him was to see a lawyer. She's looking for $$$. The explicit details in the police report (no police report is needed to report sexual harassment) are simply there to get them public and embarrass the dickhead CEO into paying her a large sum to settle quickly. If she'd gone to a newspaper, none would have reported the details for fear of liability. Police reports, however, can be reprinted even if the police have not substantiated anything. I admire her lawyer's thinking!
To place this woman in the same category as women who HAVE been enslaved/raped/abused does the other victims a grave injustice.
I'm going to guess : she left her employer and asked for a large "pension". He said no and she threatened to blackmail him with their sexual relationship. So he filed suit against her first, she then filed a police report at midnight a week (?) later and then filed her lawsuit the next day. So, it's about .. money ? Shocking if that is true....Just a possible scenario. Could be something else entirely.
ReplyDeletethis complete redefines "smothered and covered"
ReplyDeletemodtiger, I just got that, very funny:)
DeleteAnother case of 'I need more information before I take sides'. Which sucks, because I really want to go off on the guy for supporting Romney, too!
ReplyDeleteNo-one should have to worry about sexual harassment at work.
ReplyDeleteWhen is someone no longer a victim? When are they required, if ever, to take some responsibility for their reactions to their abuse/treatment?
ReplyDeleteI believe the other commenters are concerned about the time frame of report. After a lawsuit, after ten years, etc. It raises eyebrows, and I'm definitely side eyeing her as well. More info is needed.
@rejectedcarebear
ReplyDeleteThat IS an awesome gift. I'm thinking it would be
an excellent message to put on one of those small trampolines:) A portable leap to conclusions mat if you will.
@feraltart: Agreed in principle. I just don't know that this qualifies as sexual harassment.
ReplyDeleteSleaze bag, sadistic behavior on the part of the married CEO? Yes. If any part of the police report is true, he enjoyed humiliating her.
Would your view change if you discovered that the CEO was paying the woman $40-$50/hr+, and benefits, to "run errands?" Because that kind of work does not command that kind of pay, especially in GA.
In a totally legitimate non-skilled job, it would be closer to $10. If $10/hr is in fact the amount she was being paid, she or any woman would have found another job the minute he asked for that first hand job. Housekeeping jobs are not difficult to find.
She had stated that she could not find a comparable job with the same pay and benefits. My take on that is that she was getting paid a lot more than a housekeeping/PA job would normally pay and, um, sucked it up for the money.
"Prostitute" is a loaded term. Many women stay with and sleep with abusive husbands because they need the husband's income. Yes, they are trading sex for money, but no one would call that prostitution.
My guess is this will be settled and we won't ever get the facts. That police report was a brilliant move.
Mr. Waffle House is a conservative rich man in a Bible Belt state. Now he has all these allegations of smutty behavior with a woman who was not his wife up on the internets. That's going to be awkward at the country club.
He and Mrs. Waffle House have been completely humiliated by that report, and I wouldn't be surprised if the Mrs. is talking to a divorce lawyer.
Plus, even though WH is a private company and doesn't have to answer to shareholders, I would be amazed if the woman's paycheck was not deducted as a business expense on the company's tax return.
We'll see (or probably won't).
What people don't understand is that people of this sort find victims to prey on. Predators of this sort are very good at honing in on someone who is meek or with a prior history of having been abused or who is in a very vulnerable situation. Good luck to her.
ReplyDeleteI had no idea Waffle House paid that well.Though it sounds like he was the one getting benefits,not her. I think I would have put his weenie in a waffle iron if he tried that crap on me.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteUnless there's something I'm not getting here, this woman was forced to have sex once or twice a month with the boss for ten years, and got a great salary and benefits.
That is say 3 times per month at 12 months per year is 36 times. 36 X 10 is 360.
If you are getting paid, with benefits, and a scholarship for your son, and you have sex 360 times with your boss, over a period of ten years, that is consensual or some sort of business arrangement.
@TuxedoCat: She has been careful to say she didn't have sex (penetrative) with the boss. Just forced hand jobs and repelled advances. Her lawyer is painting her as a virtual virgin in the planted police report.
ReplyDeleteIf she'd claimed rape (as in forced penetration), the police would have had to look into it, although there would be zero physical evidence by now. As it is, they just typed it up.
I just want to repeat:
(1) She filed an unnecessary police report - at midnight for some reason - that could be and was republished all over the internet based only on her allegations. The police station had to record her carefully crafted statement, and the CEO's lawyers failed to foresee this development despite having everything else sealed. I like her lawyer!
(2) She supported herself and her son on her part-time earnings as an honest errand-runner, all paid by this CEO. Highly unlikely.
(3) He cannot afford the publicity as a respected married man in a conservative part of the country. If he paid her from his company, which I'm not saying he did, but a lot of CEOs probably would, he could face criminal charges on tax fraud if it can be proven that he paid her for sex acts. He'll deny it, and she is playing along for now. I love her lawyer!
(4) I see no evidence that her son got the scholarship based on the woman's relationship with the employer.
(5) I have never suggested this woman was lying about the sexual advances. I believe her on that. I just think that this was or became a consensual arrangement.
(6) And he just got screwed, royally, by her. She's going to get that "pension" that someone above mentioned.
(7) I'm okay with that. There are no victims here.
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ReplyDelete@Anonymous 5%-er I'd disagree about there being no victims. (Maybe you were talking legally, though...)
ReplyDeleteHis wife and family
Her son and her family
His reputation
Her reputation
Her dignity
These kind of men/women like the control factor. It probably wouldn't be any fun for them if it was normal and consensual.
ReplyDelete