PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A New Jersey man is accused of grooming and groping underage employees who worked with him at Wendy’s and Saladworks in Bucks County, authorities said.
Plumstead Township Police were first tipped off about 33-year-old Richard “Ricky” Brooks of Freehold, N.J., on April 1 after receiving a ChildLine report that he had groomed a boy while managing a Plumstead Saladworks.
Investigators interviewed 10 alleged victims, and police said Brooks gave minors alcohol, medical marijuana cartridges, cigarettes, and his prescribed Adderall between 2020 and 2024.
Authorities said Brooks engaged in similar behavior while managing a Doylestown Wendy’s and at his residence at Fonthill Apartments. While managing the Wendy’s, Brooks, then between 28 and 30 years old, allegedly grabbed the genitals of another employee who was between 15 and 17 years old.
On Dec. 11, Plumstead Township Police arrested Brooks and charged him with indecent assault, corruption of minors, and drug possession with intent to deliver. He was arraigned last Wednesday and remanded to Bucks County Correctional Facility after he was unable to post 10% of the $100,000 bail.
He’s due back in court Jan. 12.