The Great Smoky Mountain Journal
Source:
Tuesday, January 01, 2019 02:46 PM
Waffle House Chairman Weeps During Hearing Of Three, Including His Former Housekeeper Indicted For Extortion Charges
Joe Rogers Jr., 65, sat and shook his head as the jury listened and then watched several minutes of the video, which showed him having sex with housekeeper Mye Brindle, 47, six years ago.
The sex tape is key evidence in a six-year-long legal battle involving false accusations of sexual harassment, threats and attempts to extort money.
Rogers took the stand Tuesday to testify against Brindle, who videotaped the encounter. In his testimony, Rogers said that what the court heard was a typical sexual encounter with Brindle. He admitted he had been having sex with her for more than nine years, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
But defense attorneys argued that the woman was justified in making the tape because of the sexual harassment of which Rogers is accused. The executive, however, contends the relationship was always consensual.
In 2012, Brindle sued Rogers for sexual
harassment. The executive admitted having occasional sexual encounters
with the woman but denied allegations of sexual harassment, saying she
sued to extort money from him.
A Cobb County Superior Court judge ruled in 2013 that Brindle may have
recorded the sexual encounter without Rogers’ consent.
“The video recording makes it clear that (the woman) was a willing
participant in the sexual encounter and is not the victim of sexual
battery,” that judge ruled.
One of Brindle’s attorneys, David Cohen, reportedly wrote to Rogers in
July 2012, encouraging him to resolve the allegations and warning that
failure to do so would lead to “media attention, criminal charges,
divorce, and the destruction of families,” the Journal-Constitution
reported.
"According to her attorneys, she now
wants millions of dollars from me."
- Joe Rogers Jr., Waffle House chairman
"Shortly thereafter, on July 16, 2012, I received a letter from her
attorney containing false allegations and strong threats," Rogers said
of the letter in 2012. "According to her attorneys, she now wants
millions of dollars from me."
The letter encouraged the executive to countersue. That resulted in the
housekeeper, along with her two attorneys, getting indicted in 2016 on
accusations of illegally recording the sexual encounter and conspiring
to extort millions from Rogers.
Brian Robinson, a spokesman for Brindle’s attorneys, said at the time
that the charges against the three individuals sent “a chilling message
to victims of sexual abuse and those who seek to help them attain
justice.”
He added: “The two attorneys indicted zealously represented their
client, a victim of serial sexual abuse by her employer, Joe Rogers.”
Rogers has spoken out about the allegations and lawsuits in the past,
expressing regret and apologized to his wife and the family.
“That was wrong of me and I am very sorry for the pain and embarrassment
I've caused my wife and family. There is no excuse for what I have
done,” he said. “I am a victim of my own stupidity, but I am not going
to be a victim of a crime -- extortion.”
He added: “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 is the son of Waffle House co-founder Joe Rogers Sr., who died in
2017 at age 97. Waffle House started in Georgia in 1955 and now operates
at more than 1,500 locations.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
