Lawyers surrender tapes in Waffle House CEO suit

MARIETTA, Ga. -- Lawyers on Wednesday turned over recording of Waffle House CEO Joe Rogers Jr. engaged in sexual acts. The recordings, now in the hands of a Cobb County judge, were made by a woman who alleges Rogers forced her to engage in such acts to keep her job.

The woman told Atlanta police last month the executive demanded that she perform sexual acts in exchange for keeping her role as his housekeeper. She said that Rogers tried to force her to have sex with him despite her protests. She said this occurred for nearly 10 years, from 2003 through June of this year.

The woman and Rogers have sued each other, but judges have not publicly released the documents in those cases.

Rogers has acknowledged having consensual sexual encounters with the woman, but he accuses her of making false statements against him. Rogers said he received what he described as a "blackmail" letter from the woman's attorney seeking millions of dollars.

"What we're going through is very painful," Rogers said after the hearing. "I've disappointed a lot of people, I've let a lot of folks down and they're standing by me, though. I did some stupid things."

"I'm willing to stand here and be the victim of my own stupidity, but I don't want to the victim of these crimes," Rogers said. He would not elaborate on what crimes he was describing.

An attorney for the woman, Hylton Dupree, denied that his client was attempting extortion.

"It's not an extortion case," Dupree said. "It's a tort case." He would not comment further.

Rogers said the accuser worked part-time for him from 2003 until she was let go in 2008. She was later rehired as his house manager but quit in June, he said.