By Jim Hannah
The Cincinnati Enquirer

COVINGTON - Three former servers at the Florence Frisch's Big Boy filed suit Thursday against the Walnut Hills-based restaurant chain, claiming a short-order cook sexually harassed them.

Although the cook was not named as a defendant in the civil case filed in Kenton Circuit Court, he has been convicted in Boone District Court of harassing one of the women. Cliff A. Webb, 40, was charged with third-degree sex abuse.

Under a plea agreement reached earlier this month, Webb pleaded guilty to the reduced misdemeanor charge of harassment.

His 90-day sentence was conditionally discharged for two years. He is ordered to have no contact with the woman.

The three Northern Kentucky women who filed the civil suit are Christina Barrett, Maxine Mills and Natasha Cooper.

They claim Cook grabbed and touched them in inappropriate ways in the restaurant's kitchen, freezer and break room.

The suit alleges the three, who all worked for Frisch's at various times from 1998 through this year, were ultimately fired for complaining about Webb.

The women's attorney, Barbara Bonar of Covington, said restaurant management knew of the allegations of sexual abuse as early as 2001 but continued to assign women to work with Webb.

Frisch's declined to comment.

E-mail jhannah@enquirer.com