McDonald’s franchisee agrees to pay $4.4M after manager sexually assaulted teen

By MARK SCOLFORO
Associated Press

A franchisee of fast food giant McDonald’s has agreed to pay a teenage girl $4.4 million to settle her lawsuit over having been sexually assaulted by a Pittsburgh-area restaurant manager who was a registered sex offender. The victim’s lawyers announced on Monday the deal between the girl, who was 14 years old at the time of the 2021 sexual assault, and McDonald’s franchisee Rice Enterprises LLC. It compensates her for the attack by Walter A. Garner, who’s now 44 years old and serving a prison sentence for statutory sexual assault and other offenses.