Indiana Man Accused Of Repeatedly Raping Co-Worker With Disabilities

A 58-year-old man from Portage, Indiana, has been accused of sexually assaulting a young woman with intellectual disabilities whom he met last year at work.

Danny Lee Allen Sr. was charged Monday with two counts of Level 3 felony rape and one count of Level 6 felony sexual battery for allegedly sexually assaulting a young female coworker at a Merrillville restaurant several times, the Chicago Tribune first reported.

According to an affidavit, the 19-year-old victim, who has the mental capacity of a 12-year-old, told police that Allen would drive her to a parking lot or hotel near the restaurant for sex, which the woman said she did not want.

The woman started working at the restaurant in August of last year. Allen allegedly told her mother he would "take care of her" due to her intellectual disabilities, the documents said.

The mother received a call around a month or two later, informing her that her daughter had been spotted kissing a man at a church parking lot. Following the call, the woman contacted Allen and warned him to stay away from her daughter.

But Allen's abuses allegedly did not stop, and by January, he had asked the victim to start coming in an hour before her four-hour shift so they could engage in sex, court documents alleged.

The affidavit said the victim's mother learned of the multiple sexual assaults in early March after the victim started crying and the mother asked what was wrong.

A co-worker who has known Allen for several years called him the victim's "pretend husband" and thought it was "harmless," according to the affidavit. But she said she became worried over the attention Allen was giving to the victim and encouraged her to open up about what happened between her and Allen.

A former manager at the restaurant also told police Allen was given a "final written warning" for trying to kiss another employee on the cheek, which was verified by an internal sexual harassment investigation.

On Wednesday, Allen appeared before court, where a Lake Criminal Court magistrate entered not guilty pleas on his behalf and appointed him a public defender. His bond was set at $7,000 cash surety, which records indicated was still not posted.

He is scheduled to appear before court again Tuesday.