Family of teen who was sexually assaulted by McDonald’s supervisor reaches settlement

A $4.35 million settlement has been reached in the case of a former teenage McDonald’s employee who was sexually assaulted by her manager, a convicted Megan’s Law offender, in 2021.

The victim was 14 at the time of the February 2021 incident at the Bethel Park fast food restaurant. Walter Garner, now 44, followed the girl into the bathroom at the Fort Couch Road restaurant and sexually assaulted her.

Garner was a registered sex offender at the time he was promoted to the victim’s supervisor in early 2021, according to the lawsuit and public records kept by Pennsylvania State police. Garner was ordered to register as a Megan’s Law offender for life following an indecent assault conviction in 2003.

The lawsuit, filed in September 2021, alleged the McDonald’s Corporation and its local franchisee, Rice Enterprises, should have known Garner was a sex offender.

A petition was filed Monday by one of the girl’s guardians asking a judge to approve the settlement, but no detailed filings were immediately available.

“How does a known sex offender get hired and be permitted to manage underage girls between 14 and 17 years of age,” the girl’s attorney, Alan Perer, questioned in a statement announcing the settlement.

Records show that Rice Enterprises filed for bankruptcy in 2023. Mr. Perer said the franchisee’s eight McDonald’s locations are being sold off to finance the multimillion dollar settlement. Garner pleaded guilty to criminal charges connected to the assault in October 2021, including indecent assault, statutory sexual assault and corruption of minors. He remains in state prison outside of Harrisburg.

The girl, referred to in the lawsuit as L.H., began work at the restaurant in October 2020. Within a few months, Garner began harassing her and two other teenage employees, according to the lawsuit. The girls reported the harassment but received no help or guidance from other managers.

The lawsuit said Rice and McDonald’s had the responsibility to ensure employee safety to make sure their workplace was safe for young teenage employees “so they are not subjected to assault by convicted sexual predators.”

Earlier court filings included the background check returned during the process of promoting Garner to a management position. The records from backgroundchecks.com turned up no criminal records for Garner anywhere in the U.S. Among the courts and databases listed as searched during the background check was the Pennsylvania Sex Offender Registry.

“I am hopeful that this settlement will embolden other young people who have been sexually assaulted on the job to speak out and seek justice,” Mr. Perer said. “When more people come forward, companies will feel pressured to do the right thing to make sure young employees are adequately protected.”