A former Pennsylvania fast-food restaurant manager accused of sexually assaulting two teenage employees and skipping the state before his court date is now in custody in Cobb County.
Darnell Penn, 38, of Philadelphia, was arrested Tuesday at the Bridges of Kennesaw Apartments, police said Wednesday in a news release.
Kennesaw police went to the complex in the 3800 block of Jiles Road after learning that Penn, a fugitive from Montgomery County, Pa., was there. Officers found him inside one of the units with three other people. He initially refused to leave the apartment and would not let the other people out or open the door, police said.
Penn surrendered after a brief negotiation.
Authorities in Pennsylvania had been looking for Penn since early October, when he failed to appear in court on rape and kidnapping charges, according to Philadelphia news station KYW.
Penn managed a Five Guys restaurant in Plymouth Township, the news outlet reported.
Police said Penn forced a teen girl who worked for him to expose herself inside the restaurant’s bathroom. He also allegedly sexually assaulted another teen employee in his car in the parking lot.
“He asked her to go to his car under the guise of getting a new uniform and when he went out there he took advantage of her sexually,” Plymouth Township police spokesman Sgt. Tom Longo told KYW.
Officials said Penn threatened the teen’s job if she told anyone about the assault. He was arrested, charged and released on $100,000 bond, but did not show for his scheduled court date, officials said.
Penn is being held in the Cobb County Adult Detention Center. He faces new charges of obstruction, giving a false name/date of birth and three counts of false imprisonment in connection with his Kennesaw arrest.
It is not clear when Penn will be extradited to Pennsylvania to face the rape and kidnapping charges.
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