Hoax Phone Call Leads to Sexual Assault of McDonald's Employee

Between 1994 and 2004, an unknown person claiming to be a police officer placed more than 30 hoax calls to several restaurants, including McDonald’s. The caller instructed employees and managers to perform strip searches and sexual assaults against each other. Unbelievably, many complied.

Hoax Call & Attack on Louise Ogborn

On August 9, 2004, 18-year-old Louise Ogborn worked a second shift at the Mt. Washington (Kentucky) McDonald’s after the manager asked her to cover for an employee who called out for the day.

Mid-shift, the phone rang. Louise answered the phone.

The person on the other end of the line identified him as a police officer. He asked to speak to the manager. Donna Summers took over the call. The caller stated that a purse had been stolen from the restaurant earlier that day. He described the thief and asked Summers if any employees fit the vague description. Summers immediately thought of Louise.

Summers called the teen employee into the office and explained she fit the description of the person involved in a theft that police were investigating.

Over the next three hours, the caller convinced Summers to strip search Louise and forced a third employee to sexually assault her.

Strange Requests Made by Caller

The caller told Summers to offer Louise two options to resolve the matter: agree to a strip search by managers or await an arrest. Louise agreed to a strip-search.

Summers followed the caller’s instructions and told Louise to undress. Louie did as instructed. Summers took the teen's clothing, cell phone, and other personal effects and placed them outside the office.

The night manager, Kim Dockery, arrived during this chaos. Shocked and stunned, she handed Louise an apron to cover up, but then went about her day managing the store.

Summers Calls Male Employee

The caller then instructed Summers to find a male employee to sit with Louise. Summers grabbed the cook, Jason Bradley, who then took the phone. Several minutes later, Bradley walked out of the office; he wanted no part of the call.

Summers' Fiance Sexually Assaults Ogborn

The refusal to participate upset the caller.

He asked Summers if she was married; she replied that she was engaged. The caller instructed her to call him to come into the restaurant to sit with Louise. She did as instructed, and her fiancee, Walter Nix, arrived a short time later. Summers walked out of the office, leaving Nix on the phone with the caller and in the room with Louise.

Following the instructions of the caller, Nix forced Ogborn to perform humiliating physical acts, conducted a body cavity search, and physically assaulted and spanked her before sexually assaulting her. Louise repeatedly asked Nix to stop, asked for her clothing, and begged to leave the office.

Nix left two hours later, and Summers returned to the office.

Maintenance Man Determines Call Was a Hoax

Upon request of the caller, Summers asked the maintenance man, Tom Simms, to sit with Louise after Nix left.

Tom quickly identified the call as a hoax and hung up the phone. He then called the General Manager, Lisa Siddons, to the store. Siddons called the police when she arrived.

Case Aftermath

McDonald’s terminated Summers. Nix was arrested and found guilty of three felony charges. Summers was charged with a misdemeanor crime. She entered an Alford plea in the case. She claimed that she had no idea her fiance had sexually assaulted Louise.

Police suspected David Stewart, a Florida security guard, of making the hoax calls. He was charged in the incident but acquitted of all charges. The identity of the caller remains unknown to this day.

McDonald’s Corporation was aware of the hoax calls that had been coming into the restaurants. Corporate managers nonetheless decided against warning restaurant management or employees.

Louise Ogborn filed a lawsuit against Summers, Dockery, and the McDonald’s Corporation. McDonald’s filed a third-party lawsuit against Nix. Summers filed a cross-complaint against McDonald's. The restaurant then filed a complaint against David Stewart. The suit against Stewart was dismissed after his acquittal.

Louise won $1,111,312 in compensatory damages and $5,000,000 in punitive damages in her lawsuit against McDonald’s.

Summers also won her lawsuit against the restaurant, pocketing $100,000 in compensatory damages and $1,000,000 in punitive damages.

McDonald’s appealed the decisions.

The entire incident was captured on surveillance camera from the restaurant office.

Case Information:

https://caselaw.findlaw.com/ky-court-of-appeals/1505641.html