Sexual assault victim involving a Sydney fast food restaurant speaks out

SYDNEY, N.S. -

A supervisor at a Wendy's restaurant on Welton Street in Sydney, N.S., has pleaded guilty to sexual assault and one of his victims is speaking out about the difficulty of coming forward.

“So, I started there in 2018 and probably three months in, my manager followed me to the freezer and put his hands up my shirt. He has put his hands down my back and gone lower,” says the victim.

The woman, whose identity is protected under a publication ban, is speaking out for the first time on Friday.

She says she was 16 years old when she was working at the restaurant when the incidents first started happening.

“It was reported in 2019 to the manager and HR manager and the owner of the restaurant, but he continued to work there for another year until police investigation was done,” she said.

According to court documents, 25-year-old David Macdonald was charged with five counts of sexual assault involving five different complainants.

He was arrested in August 2020.

“It really was hard to come forward. The police interview was the hardest thing I ever had to do in my life,” added the victim.

This woman and another woman have filed lawsuits against the owner of the Wendy's in Sydney - T-Roy Enterprises Ltd. - alleging the company failed to protect them from a supervisor.  The allegations have not been tested in court.

Both plaintiffs were minors when the alleged offences took place in 2018 and 2019 inside the restaurant.

CTV reached out to the company, but did not hear back by news time on Friday. However, in a statement of defence filed in June in one case, the company denied the allegations in the claim.

“Mentally I do have trauma. I do remember the incidents. It was hard to work in a new environment and trust people and know that wasn't going to happen to me again,” said the victim.

According to court documents, Macdonald has pleaded guilty to five counts of sexual assault and he is scheduled to be sentenced in Sydney on Tuesday.