A teenage girl has been awarded $4.4 million in a sexual assault lawsuit against a McDonald's franchise located in Pennsylvania.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of a then 14-year-old girl who was sexually assaulted by the manager in the bathroom of the Pittsburgh area McDonald's. Named in the lawsuit as a defendant is the store’s owner and operator, Rice Enterprises LLC.

McDonald's Corporation was also named as a defendant, and despite its motions asking the court to dismiss it from the lawsuit, the courts permitted the complaint to move forward against both. The settlement agreement, however, is between the plaintiff and Rice Enterprises. McDonald's is not a signatory and was eventually released from any legal claims.

The abuser, then 44-year-old Walter A. Garner, was required to register as a sex offender after his previous assault on a 10-year-old girl in 2003. In that case, Garner pled guilty to aggravated indecent assault and other charges.

Nearly a decade later, Garner would go on to plead guilty to the attack in the McDonald's location. He was arrested on charges including statutory sexual assault, indecent assault, and other charges.

Rice Enterprises stated it had immediately terminated Garner after the attack. The company explained in a statement, “Since then, we’ve redoubled our efforts to ensure a positive and respectful experience for all employees in our restaurants, and our organization maintains a zero-tolerance policy for harassment of any kind.” Rice Enterprises added that it requires new hires to undergo “safe and respectful workplace training” and that the company will continue its efforts to improve safety and security policies. Rice Enterprises has since filed for bankruptcy, and its stores are being sold to pay for the settlement.

The teenage girl began working at the Pittsburgh restaurant in October 2020 but shares in her lawsuit that she never underwent sexual harassment training or was given guidance on how to report it. She explains that soon after she began working at the location, Garner began harassing her and that leading up to the assault, he routinely made sexual comments toward her and inappropriately touched her.

No action occurred until another employee at the McDonald's restaurant alerted school administrators at the teenager’s high school about Garner’s inappropriate conduct. School officials called the police about the report, prompting Garner's arrest in April 2021.

McDonald's USA doubled down on the franchise’s response, sharing a statement that called the incident deeply troubling. McDonald's USA maintains that it is committed to employee safety and does this by providing training resources to franchise owners to prevent harassment.

Sexual assault is a crime under Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes § 3121 and is defined as an action in which an individual engages in sexual intercourse with a victim who does not consent. If the victim was under 16 years of age, the defendant was more than four years older than the victim, and they were not married to each other at the time of the offense, then it is classified as statutory sexual assault.

These sexual assault laws are charged as felonies and carry with them fines and up to ten years in prison.

After announcing the multi-million dollar settlement, the victim’s attorney Alan Perer shared, "There is no amount of compensation to account for lost innocence and the trauma that these survivors will go through for the rest of their lives.”