A New Jersey man will serve less than two years in jail for providing underage employees with drugs and alcohol and engaging in other inappropriate behavior when he was a manager of Central Bucks County chain restaurants.
At an Oct. 21 sentencing hearing, Bucks County Common Pleas Court Judge Raymond McHugh ordered Richard Brooks Jr. serve 11 ½ to 23 months in Bucks County Correctional Center.
Brooks Jr., 33, of Freehold,pleaded guilty to seven charges earlier this year including a felony drug-related charge and two misdemeanor counts of indecent assault without consent.
He was originally charged with more than 50 felonies, including multiple counts of corruption of minors before prosecutors reduced the charges.
Plumstead Township Police opened
an investigation last year after receiving a ChildLine report involving Brooks accusing him of “grooming” an underage male employee while they worked at the Saladworks in the 4300 block of Swamp Road, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Police interviewed a dozen people who worked with Brooks between 2020 and 2024 when he worked as a manager at Saladworks and Wendy’s in Plumstead and Doylestown.
The victims alleged Brooks provided underage employees with medical marijuana, Adderall and alcohol at work and at his Doylestown apartment.
Brooks told police that he had a drug and alcohol problem while working at Saladworks, but he denied supplying drugs or alcohol to underage employees at either business.
He told authorities he didn't know why employees were making the accusations against him, the affidavit said.
Crime and Courts Reporter Jo Ciavaglia can be reached at jciavaglia@gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Ex-Bucks chain restaurant manager sentenced for bad behavior with minors
