Ex-Hooters Manager Pleads No Contest

Published January 14, 2015

A former Hooters (search) restaurant manager accused of secretly videotaping female applicants as they changed into waitress uniforms pleaded no contest Monday to felony charges.

Juan Martin Aponte (search), 32, has been held on $500,000 bail since his arrest in May.

He pleaded no contest to five felony counts, including two counts of using a minor for a sex act and three counts of eavesdropping (search), and will be sentenced to five years in state prison, the Los Angeles County district attorney's office said. A sentencing hearing was set for Aug. 24.

The taping allegedly occurred between November and February in a trailer outside a restaurant being renovated as a new Hooters — a chain best known for its scantily clad waitresses.

Police investigated after a woman said she was asked to try on a Hooters uniform in a job interview. About 180 digital recordings were found at Aponte's home and the construction trailer, authorities said.

Officials with the Atlanta-based restaurant chain have said it is against company policy to ask job applicants to change clothes.

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