Bucks Co. Dairy Queen franchise owner accused of inappropriately touching juvenile employee

NORTHAMPTON TWP., Pa. (WPVI) -- The franchise owner of a Dairy Queen in Northampton Township, Bucks County, is facing multiple charges after being accused of indecent assault of a juvenile female employee.

On March 20, the victim filed a report with the Northampton Twp. Police Department after she says her boss, 30-year-old Parthkumar "Pete" Patel, inappropriately touched her.

He is the owner of the Dairy Queen, located in the 900 block of Second Street Pike, in the township's Richboro section.

The victim said around 9:40 p.m. that night, Patel called her into his office to "discuss an employment issue."

She said that once the door closed, he had her sit down in a chair to fill out forms. While completing the form, she alleges that Patel began massaging her shoulders and then put his hand down the front of her shirt.

The victim said she got scared and left the office.

The girl was picked up by one of her parents, who then called the police.

Two managers of the restaurant told police that when the victim left the office, they could tell she was visibly upset and said that she told them what happened.

One of those managers said they went into the office after the victim left and tried to review the surveillance video, but said that the timeframe was missing from the system.

When police interviewed Patel, he confirmed that the two were in the office together but denied touching her.

When Patel was asked about the surveillance video, he told detectives that the footage had "disappeared."

Investigators were able to forensically analyze the surveillance and recover the deleted video, which allegedly matched the victim's report, according to police.

A warrant was issued for Patel on March 14, and he has since been charged with corruption of a minor, indecent assault, as well as tampering with evidence.

His bail has been set at $75,000 unsecured. He was also told to have no contact with the victim and no unsupervised contact with any employee under 18.