BEXAR COUNTY, Texas — A supervisor at a fast-food restaurant in Bexar County forced himself on a teenage employee, Sheriff Javier Salazar said in a news conference Monday.
Salazar said two attacks occurred at a Sonic restaurant in August and September. He says his department was made aware of the allegations when the 17-year-old victim made an outcry to her teacher.
Salazar said the suspect, Humberto De La Cruz, was in supervisory position over the victim and took advantage of situations where she was in a smaller area like the restroom.
"He made his way into the restroom, followed her in there, and once they were in close quarters, he forced himself upon her," Salazar said. "In some of those instances, [he was] removing articles of her clothing, obviously against her will, and other instances, removing his own clothing."
Sheriff Salazar praised the victim for coming forward and reporting the incidents.
"This young lady [was] very brave, I am glad she let her educator know that had happened. She did let supervisors know that this had been occurring, she was asking her supervisors if anything was going to be done about this," Salazar said.
Salazar said De La Cruz was moved to another location, but nothing was reported to authorities.
"It looks at this point like her place of employment let her down and didn't act accordingly," Salazar said.
The sheriff said the investigation into the restaurant's actions in response to the teen's report is still being investigated.
Meanwhile, De La Cruz is charged with indecency with a child by contact and indecent exposure. Sheriff Salazar also said he is a registered sex offender from an incident in 2005 involving a 14-year-old victim.
He is urging anyone who may have worked with him at the restaurant and may have more information to please call the Bexar County Sheriff's Office at 210-335-6000 or email bcsotips@bexar.org.
KENS 5 has reached out to Sonic and received this response from its corporate office:
This occurred at an independently owned and operated franchised location, and the franchise group is cooperating with local authorities. Since it's an active investigation, we defer any further details of the case to the local police department.