Attorneys for Waffle House CEO Joe W. Rogers and a former employee who is suing him for sexual harassment on Wednesday complied with a judge’s order to turn in all copies of videotapes depicting Rogers nude and engaged in sexual acts so they could be impounded by the court.
Rogers has admitted to having “infrequent consensual sexual encounters” with a woman who was a personal employee (and not a Waffle House employee) between 2003 and 2012. However, he denies engaging in sexual harassment and claims the lawsuit was an attempt to extort millions of dollars from him. The woman has alleged that Rogers fondled her and routinely pressured her into performing sex acts on him.
Senior Superior Court Judge G. Grant Brantley on Tuesday decided to unseal written case records that both parties had agreed should be kept under wraps, since much of the information has been leaked to the media. However, he ordered that videotapes created by the woman be impounded to prevent them from being leaked.
It’s unknown how many recordings the woman made or what exactly they depict. Brantley has ruled that the videos were created without Rogers’ consent. He also made a finding that if the videos got into the public domain it would cause Rogers harm.
Brantley will hold a future evidenciary hearing to determine if the lawyers on either side should be held in contempt for releasing case records that were supposed to be sealed.
