A manager at a Qdoba Mexican Eats in east Vancouver is accused of inappropriately touching a female teenage employee.
Alberto Hernandez Topete, 33, of Vancouver made an in-custody first appearance Monday in Clark County Superior Court on suspicion of indecent liberties.
Judge Jennifer Snider granted Hernandez Topete supervised release, and arraignment is scheduled for Oct. 4, according to court records.
The victim was recently working at the restaurant, 155 N.E. 192nd Ave., when her boss, Hernandez Topete, summoned her to a back room, according to an affidavit of probable cause. While alone in the room, Hernandez Topete grabbed the girl’s front belt buckle loops, according to the affidavit.
When she tried to pull away, Hernandez Topete held firmly and pushed his thumb inside her pants. He then asked her when she will turn 18, before letting go, the affidavit says.
Hernandez Topete twice told police that, while they had a conversation alone in the back room, he did not touch the girl. But when an officer asked for video surveillance footage, Hernandez Topete claimed he was doing prep work when he turned around and accidentally caught his hand in her belt loop, according to the affidavit. He continued to deny touching her inappropriately.
“Video evidence may be available on a later date but was not available for screening by those on the scene during my investigation,” the affidavit reads.
