Waffle House CEO says sex consensual

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MARIETTA, Ga., Nov. 14 (UPI) -- Attorneys Wednesday turned over all copies of sex videotapes involving Waffle House top executive Joe Rogers Jr. and his ex-housekeeper to a judge in Georgia.

The 43-year-old single mother from Acworth, Ga., is suing the chief executive officer of the privately held, 1,500-store restaurant chain, accusing him of frequently fondling her and requiring her to perform sexual acts on him as part of her job over a period of several years. Rogers said in a statement Tuesday the sex was consensual, not harassment, and the lawsuit was an attempt to extort millions of dollars from him.

Senior Cobb County Superior Court Judge G. Grant Brantley Tuesday allowed written case records to be unsealed but ordered the videotapes created by the woman impounded to prevent them from being leaked.

The Atlanta Constitution-Journal reported it wasn't known how many recordings had been made or exactly what they depict. Brantley has ruled they were created illegally without Rogers' consent and would cause Rogers harm if disseminated.

Brantley will hold a hearing at some point to determine if attorneys on either side should be held in contempt for releasing case records that were supposed to be kept secret.

In his admission Tuesday, Rogers said he had engaged in "a series of infrequent consensual sexual encounters" with the woman, whose name is not being revealed because of the sexual harassment allegations, "over an almost eight-year period when I was separated, single and re-married."

"That was wrong of me and I am very sorry for the pain and embarrassment I've caused my wife and family," he wrote. "There is no excuse for what I have done."

Rogers said the woman worked for him from 2003 to 2008 and again from late 2009 until this past June. He said he receive a letter from her July 16 "containing false allegations and strong threats" and "she now wants millions of dollars from me."

"I am a victim of my own stupidity, but I am not going to be a victim of a crime -- extortion," he said.

Rogers, believed to be in his 60s, said he initiated court proceedings of his own Sept. 14 to prevent the woman from releasing the videotapes. The ex-housekeeper and her attorneys filed suit against him five days later.

"As personally embarrassing as this situation is for me, I am committed to the legal and law enforcement process to expose the motives of my former housekeeper and her attorneys," Rogers continued.

"I apologize to my wife, family, friends and coworkers for my personal behavior and will work hard to regain their trust and respect."

For her part, the ex-housekeeper told police Rogers treated her "as subservient and required ... [her] to perform these various sexual acts on him as a condition of her employment."

She claimed Rogers "frequently appeared naked in front of" her, the police report said.