TEXARKANA, Texas–A 34-year-old man has been charged with indecency with a child for allegedly groping a 16-year-old girl while he was working as her manager at a fast food restaurant in the Wake Village community.
James Matthew Jenkins, 34, allegedly cornered the teen employee while she was mopping a public bathroom in the Chicken Express restaurant at 4708 W. 7th St. on Nov. 13, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Jenkins allegedly became “touchy” and asked the girl if he could look in her pants and about the color of her underwear. The girl attempted to pull away but Jenkins had placed a finger around the girl’s belt loop, the affidavit alleges.
The girl reportedly tried to get Jenkins to stop the alleged advances by saying, “I have a boyfriend,” “You are married,” “This is wrong,” and “This is illegal.”
Jenkins allegedly offered the girl a dollar if she would allow him to look in her pants and later offered $12, the affidavit said. The teen told investigators that she called her boyfriend after Jenkins had groped her body and put her phone in her back pocket. The boyfriend was allegedly able to hear Jenkins offering money to the girl to “let him see it.”
Jenkins is currently free on a $100,000 bond, according to the Bowie County Sheriff’s Office.
If convicted of indecency with a child by contact, Jenkins faces two to twenty years in prison.
The case has been assigned to 202nd District Judge John Tidwell.
