Lawsuit alleges Westmoreland County McDonald's employee sexually assaulted teenage coworker
DELMONT, Pa. (KDKA) - A lawsuit filed this week in Westmoreland County is shedding light on sexual abuse allegations against a local McDonald's employee.
According to police paperwork, charges were filed against Dezhane Amey, who worked as a manager at the McDonald's in Delmont in 2022, for corruption of minors and indecent assault.
A lawsuit filed by Kontos, Mengine, Killion and Hassen alleges their client, who was 15 years old at the time, was sexually assaulted by Amey while on the job.
"The lawsuit mainly centered around the fact that the unlawful unwarranted relationship was reported to McDonald's and in fact, corporate McDonald's, and nothing was done to resolve the matter, and in fact, they protected the manager employer who was the perpetrator of the crime," Tony Mengine said, an attorney at Kontons, Mengine, Killion and Hassen.
McDonald's and the franchise owner, Star K.E. LLC, are listed as plaintiffs in the lawsuit.
Mengine said McDonald's failed to do a background check on Amey, protect their client, or even investigate the matter when it was reported.
"They emphasize safety in the workplace and how they care about their employees. However, in this case, they did the exact opposite," Mengine said. "McDonald's is supposed to do background checks on all their employees, and in this particular case, had McDonald's done a background check, it would have been easily noticed that this gentleman had a long history of sexual harassment, [and] other criminal misdeeds, including drug use. So, it would have been very easy for them to vet this and find out that this person was not appropriate for the job, especially a job where he was going to be overseeing basically kids, kids that are under 18 years old."
The lawsuit claims Amey would give the victim marijuana and vape pens to manipulate her and use his position to continue the relationship, threatening her job if she reported it.
Mengine said when the victim reported it to corporate, nothing was done.
"They actually terminated our client because they valued the person who did the assault, as a manager, and they, in fact, told her she was going to ruin his life," Mengine said.
Mengine added that they are demanding a jury trial and said McDonald's is liable for not protecting a juvenile employee from harassment and sexual assault.
"They really failed this young lady, especially, in light of the fact that they portray themselves as this almost fatherly-type-figure employer who really stresses workplace safety," Mengine said.
McDonalds USA issued a statement to KDKA-TV on Friday afternoon regarding the aforementioned details.
"These allegations are categorically unacceptable. It's critical that everyone working under the Arches has a safe space to come to work every day and feels comfortable speaking up when they have concerns. The franchise organization named in this complaint is no longer in the McDonald's system."