Police charge man, 54, with sexually assaulting 16-year-old at Palm Beach restaurant

A 54-year-old West Palm Beach man is being held at the Palm Beach County Jail after Palm Beach police say he gave a 16-year-old alcohol and then sexually assaulted them.

The reported incidents took place starting in December at the Palm Beach restaurant where both the man and the 16-year-old worked, the teen told police.

Palm Beach Daily News is not identifying the man or the restaurant to protect the victim's identity.

According to an arrest report, police were alerted to the alleged abuse by the teen after the teen was involved in a crash April 17 in West Palm Beach. The teen told health-care providers that the man had given them alcohol before the crash, and that he had not let them leave the restaurant, hoping they would get drunk enough to have sex with him, the report said.

The teen told a health-care provider that the man had touched the teen inappropriately several times, and the teen always had to convince the man to stop, the arrest report said.

According to hospital records provided to police, the teen's blood-alcohol level an hour and a half after the crash was .248%, which is more than three times the legal limit of .08% for an adult, and more than 12 times the legal limit of .02% for a person under age 21.

The teen told police that the man and the teen were working together at the restaurant April 17, and the teen clocked out of work about 10 p.m. The man told them not to leave, and the teen said they were confused and didn't know what to do, so they did as the man told them, the report said.

The man sent the teen to an office and brought in a bottle of New Amsterdam Vodka, then gave the teen five or six shots of the alcohol, the report said.

The man then began to sexually assault the teen, at which point everything in the night became "completely blank," the teen told police. The teen's next memory was waking up at the crash scene in West Palm Beach, the arrest report stated.

The teen said the man first gave them alcohol toward the end of December of last year, and he continued to provide alcohol to the teen, with them drinking together in an office 10 or 15 times since then, the report said.

The teen told a Palm Beach police officer that the teen had tried to stop drinking, but the man kept pressuring the teen to drink with him until the teen gave in. The teen recalled that they had gone home and vomited at least two times after drinking with the man, the report said.

January was the first time the man touched the teen inappropriately, the teen told police. The teen didn't know how to react, so they froze, then pushed the man away from them and said, "I'm leaving, because I don't like that," the arrest report stated.

Instead of letting the teen leave, the man said he was just trying to have some fun, and he kept the teen in the office a little longer, according to the arrest report.

The teen later told police that at that time, the teen felt like they could not leave and tell someone what happened because the man would have the teen fired and lie about them, the report said. The teen did not tell anyone about the man's behavior because the teen was scared that their significant other, friends and family members "would not want to be with (them)," police said.

A co-worker, also a teenager, at the restaurant told the teen that the man had once showed a photo of a naked girl on his cellphone, and the coworker warned the teen that the man was creepy, the report said.

The teen told police that the man would always ask them to drink with him in person, instead of through messages. The teen also said they were worried that anything they said could be used against them in their plans to enlist in the military after graduating from high school, the report said.

The teen detailed for police multiple occasions where the man acted inappropriately toward them, forced them to touch him inappropriately and badgered the teen into drinking alcohol, the arrest report said.

Text messages on the teen's cellphone confirmed some of the details the teen shared with police, according to court records. The teen's statements were also supported by video surveillance footage, time card records and scheduling documents from the restaurant, police said.

Palm Beach police arrested the man April 25 and booked him into the Palm Beach County Jail. He is charged child abuse without great bodily harm; sexual assault by someone 18 years or older on someone older than 12 and younger than 18; lewd and lascivious behavior; false imprisonment; contributing to the delinquency of a minor; and selling or giving alcohol to someone under 21 years of age. He is being held on $204,000 bail, according to court records.

If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, the Palm Beach County Victim Services and Rape Crisis Center can help. Reach their helpline at 561-833-7273, or toll-free at 866-891-7273.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Police: Man sexually assaulted teen at Palm Beach restaurant