The former CEO of Waffle House became tearful Wednesday, shaking his head and turning his eyes away from the gallery, while jury members listened to audio from a sex tape his former housekeeper is accused of secretly recording of him in 2012.
The recording, which the judge said prosecutors could not keep from the public, is at the center of a six year-long tangle of civil and criminal litigation that went all the way to the Georgia Supreme Court last year.
Previously: Trial begins in Waffle House chairman's sex tape case
Joe Rogers Jr., who now serves as chairman for the national restaurant chain, took the stand Tuesday to testify against his former housekeeper Mye Brindle, who is accused of working with two attorneys to covertly record herself performing a sexual act on Rogers without his knowledge.
After the audio was played, the jury watched the video footage, which lasted for several minutes. Rogers began biting his nails while the video was shown for the first time in criminal court to a stone-faced jury.
Credit: Steve Schaefer
Credit: Steve Schaefer
In testimony that took up most of the trial’s second day, Rogers said the encounter played for the court was a typical one — he'd been having sexual encounters with Brindle for more than nine years.
Defense attorneys for Brindle have argued she was justified in making the tape as evidence of sexual harassment she has alleged against Rogers. Rogers has maintained their encounters were consensual.
Brindle and her lawyers, David Cohen and John Butters, face charges of unlawful surveillance.
Check back at myAJC.com for more coverage of this trial.
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