Man Acquitted of Hoax Phone Call That Led to McDonald's Sex Assault
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A man was acquitted Tuesday of he charges he impersonated a policeman during a phone call to a McDonald's and talked the manager and her then-fiance into strip-searching and sexually abusing an 18-year-old female employee.
David Stewart, 38, of Fountain, Florida, was charged with impersonating a police officer, soliciting sodomy and soliciting sexual abuse.
Prosecutors accused him of calling a Louisville-area McDonald's in 2004 and instructing the on-duty assistant manager to strip-search the employee to prove she had not stolen from the restaurant.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The victim testified that she was forced to perform oral sex on the assistant manager's boyfriend during the 3 1/2-hour conversation.
The fast-food restaurant's on-duty assistant manager, Donna Summers has already been sentenced to probation in connection to the incident. Her then fiance, Walter "Wes" Nix, Jr., who admitted to spanking, sodomizing and forcing the woman to masturbate, received five years in prison.
Stewart's attorney Steve Romines said there were many unanswered questions. "The only thing I knew for sure was my client didn't do it," he said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The victim is suing Stewart and McDonald's for $200 million, saying the fast-food company did not adequately protect her from falling for the hoax.
McDonald's has said the woman should have realized Stewart was not a police officer, and that Stewart and Nix are responsible for whatever damages she suffered.
Prosecutor Mike Mann said Stewart remains a suspect in similar cases around the country, stretching from Florida to Oklahoma to Idaho. Even if he is not charged, Mann said, the calls apparently stopped after Stewart's arrest.