Lawsuit: Former Wendy's supervisor sexually assaulted teen girl

A woman claimed in a lawsuit she was sexually assaulted by a former Wendy’s supervisor in Manteno and that his employers were aware of a previous assault incident involving him.

On Jan. 31, a woman filed a lawsuit against former Wendy’s supervisor Philip Buroff, Allstar Management and the general manager of Wendy’s in Manteno.

Buroff, 27, pleaded guilty on Feb. 28 to sexually abusing a teenage girl who worked at Wendy’s in Mokena in 2017. He was sentenced to three years of probation and released after he was credited with serving 180 days in jail.

Buroff was arrested less than a month later by Manteno police officers on charges of criminal sexual assault and child pornography possession, according to Kankakee County jail and court records. He is being held at the Kankakee County jail on a $1 million bond.

Kankakee County State's Attorney Jim Rowe did not respond to a call and message on Thursday about Buroff's criminal case.

The woman’s lawsuit claimed she was supervised by Buroff at Wendy’s in Manteno when she was 16 and that he used his “position of authority” to sexually assault her on Nov. 1, 2017, Jan. 1, 2018 and Feb. 28, 2018.

Her attorney, John Schrock, said she is the alleged victim in the Kankakee County case against Buroff. He said the she has been suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder after she was allegedly assaulted by Buroff.

“She’s not going to look at men the same way ever again,” Schrock said.

Schrock said her job at Wendy’s was her first.

“She was excited. She was going to save up and get a new car,” he said.

The lawsuit claimed Allstar Management, the company that operates the Manteno Wendy's, was aware of the 2017 incident where Buroff sexually assaulted the underage employee in Mokena.

The lawsuit alleged Allstar Management failed to fire Buroff and warn other employees about him after that incident.

When reached by the Herald-News, an Allstar Management representative said she would have to contact the company’s legal representative about the lawsuit.