By: Associated Press//March 22, 2011//
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — A Wisconsin man who authorities say was in Sioux Falls training employees for a new Hardee’s restaurant has pleaded not guilty to raping a teenage trainee.
Thirty-six-year-old Shannon Manninger is charged with two counts of fourth-degree rape. He faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted.
Authorities allege that Manninger called the 15-year-old girl’s high school in December and posed as her father so she could be released from school and the two could have sex in a hotel room. The Argus Leader says court documents indicate Manninger told authorities the sex was consensual. In South Dakota, the legal age of consent is 16.
Manninger has since lost his job with the fast-food-restaurant chain.