The latest lawsuit to fall upon Chipotle is particularly distressing because it involves a minor: A 16-year-old former employee claims she was repeatedly sexually harassed by her adult supervisor while working at the burrito chain. Earlier this week, a jury awarded the teen and her mother a $7.65 million judgement in the case.

The girl’s former manager, who worked with her at a Chipotle in Houston, has allegedly fled to Mexico after being accused of sexually harassing the then 16-year-old employee. In the suit originally filed in 2014, the victim alleged that both her manager and his supervising manager pressured her into sexual acts.

One of the victim’s attorneys, Adrian Villacorta, says that managers at the Houston-area Chipotle groomed the teen, even encouraging her to have unprotected sex while at work, or while on breaks.

“The fact of the matter is that these sexual assaults were being committed by managers,” says Villacorta. “These aren’t low-level crew members. These are managers, agents of the corporation. So the jury grasped on to that concept — that the manager who was committing sexual assaults and an upper level manager who helped facilitate the assaults, were Chipotle. What they knew, Chipotle knew.”

According to Villacorta, the manager continued to receive promotions while the sexual assaults remained ongoing. The offender, he says, was eventually fired — though Villacorta says he wasn’t actually fired for committing the sexual assaults, but for lying during the course of the investigation.

Eventually, the victim quit her job. “The thing that sets this case apart is that the victim was a child,” says Villacorta. “She was 16 years old. And Chipotle was trying to make a defense that a 16-year-old can welcome sexual conduct. And the laws of the state of Texas clearly provide that if you're under 17, you cannot consent to sexual activity.”

The jury was out about three and a half hours before reaching the more-than $7 million judgment, ultimately finding Chipotle at fault for not properly supervising the conduct of its employees. The former manager, meanwhile, remains in Mexico, though his exact whereabouts are unknown.

Villacorta says he thinks Chipotle might appeal the case, if only to save face. “At no point has Chipotle ever even apologized for this,” says Villacorta. “And I find that reprehensible. They refuse to take any type of responsibility.”

When asked about the allegations, Chipotle spokesperson Chris Arnold said “none of [Chipotle’s] employees were made aware of this relationship which took place outside of work.” Villacorta disputes both of those charges.

Chipotle provided Eater with the following statement:

We care deeply about all of our employees, but even our rigorous policies specifically designed to protect our employees cannot prevent private relationships that happen away from the workplace during non-work hours, such as occurred in this case. We continue to offer our support for this former employee, and hope for her wellbeing. Chipotle goes to great lengths to provide safe and productive work environments. We have internal policies, procedures, and training to address issues and potential problems between employees if ever they arise. None of our employees were made aware of this relationship which took place outside of work. We learned of it only when the former employee's parents demanded money and filed a lawsuit, and by that time neither of the employees worked for the company any longer.

In addition to its many food safety issues, Chipotle has also been subject to a slew of lawsuits filed by former employees. In February, Chipotle was ordered to pay $600,000 in damages resulting from a gender discrimination suit. In March, a judge in Pennsylvania ruled the company couldn't fire an employee for posting negative tweets about the company. Later that same month, another former Chipotle employee sued the chain, claiming wrongful termination, sexual harassment, retaliation, and discrimination.

Earlier this month, the chain attempted to put at least some of its legal woes behind it, by settling with more than 100 diners who fell ill in the midst of a widely-reported E. coli/Salmonella/Norovirus outbreak.

• 16-Year-Old Chipotle Employee Awarded $7.65 Million in Sexual Harassment Suit [CW39]

• Chipotle Ordered to Pay $600,000 in Gender Discrimination Lawsuit [E]

• All Chipotle Coverage [E]