Police say a 49-year-old Ohio man who owns a Chik-fil-A restaurant made a 400-mile drive to North Carolina to have sex with a 15-year-old girl he met online.
He was caught in the act by the girl’s parents, who called the local police. Officers say they found his underwear in the trash at the home.
Stacey Lee Austin runs a Chik-fil-A franchise in St. Clairsville, Ohio. Police said he admitted having sex with the child and was afraid he would lose his Chick-fil-A franchise.
The restaurant chain is known for its deeply religious owners who refuse to open on Sunday, and franchise candidates must go through a rigorous screening process. Austin was right to be worried; the restaurant chain issued a statement saying they had ‘zero tolerance’ for that type of conduct.
Rowan County Sheriff’s deputies arrested Austin for a statutory sex offense with a child and placed him in the county detention center without bail.
