Sex offender drops suit vs. mom, McDonald’s

A convicted serial rapist has dropped his lawsuit against a Tewksbury mom and the McDonald’s that fired him after she called and complained about his working around children.

Scott Gagnon, 50, who terrorized Essex County in the late 1970s picking up hitchhikers and sexually assaulting them, brought the civil action against Andrea Quinn, 44, and the New Hampshire-based Napoli Group just last Monday.

Gagnon’s defense attorney William Korman would not say yesterday why the change of heart.
“I can’t comment other than to say the lawsuit’s been dismissed,” Korman said.

Though he insisted his employers knew he was a registered Level 3 sex offender, Gagnon lost his night job manning the grill at the McDonald’s on Main Street in Tewksbury last month after Quinn found his work address on the state’s Sex Offender Registry Board Web site and called his bosses.
Peter Napoli, who owns the restaurant, told the Herald last week, “It’s a company policy that we do not hire anyone convicted of a sex offense.”

Yesterday, Quinn’s attorney, radio and TV personality Wendy Murphy, vowed to represent for free anyone else who gets sued for doing what Quinn did.
“The public should not be afraid of doing exactly what Andrea Quinn did. Andrea Quinn should be proud of herself,” said Murphy.

“Lawsuits that attempt to silence people are the ultimate un-American act,” she said. “Isn’t this the country that prides itself on being the best of the best when it comes to free speech?”

[Gagnon served 27 years behind bars for pleading guilty to five rapes. He told the Herald last week McDonald’s was the only business to offer him work after months of filling out job applications.]