STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich. – A 17-year-old and her family are suing the franchise of a Sterling Heights Jimmy John’s store after the teen said she was raped by a former employee.
The teen, who has a disability, said that in August, Jerry Brown-Pegues forced her into a storage room and assaulted her.
Documents show that the owner -- Turner Services Group in Clinton Township -- was aware of Brown-Pegues’ prior sexual assault crime and kept him on staff.
“If I knew somebody who was going to be around women with a previous criminal sexual misconduct conviction, I wouldn’t hire them, and if they were already hired, I probably would fire them on the spot,” said attorney Ven Johnson, who is representing the teen.
Brown-Pegues was previously convicted of sexually assaulting a woman at a Michigan Work office in Troy in 2017. He served time in prison, was out on parole and got a job as a delivery driver at the Jimmy John’s store.
Documents obtained by Local 4 Defenders show that the store owner discussed Brown-Pegues’ prior conviction with the human resources department when he applied for a manager’s position. However, despite safety concerns, he remained working there.
Employees then complained about his alleged sexually explicit behavior with them.
Internal emails from Turner Services showed its response to the lawsuit -- showing 66 days had passed from when it discussed Brown-Pegues’ conviction and employment risk to when the teen was attacked.
“They left him there and a month and a half later, he raped my client,” Johnson said. “It’s so despicable.”
Brown-Pegues’ parole was revoked after police investigated and he was sent back to prison. On Friday, attorneys for Turner Services said they are reviewing the case and declined to comment.
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