'Don't Pick Up the Phone': Here's what to know about the McDonald's strip-search hoax

Andrew Wolfson, Louisville Courier Journal
·3 min read
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Netflix is airing a three-part docuseries called "Don't Pick Up the Phone," about a strip-search case that occurred at a McDonald's in Mount Washington, Kentucky, that was instigated by a caller posing as a police officer.

The Courier Journal first told that story in 2005 in one of the longest and most viewed articles it has ever published.  “A Hoax Most Cruel” told how a 19-year-old, minimum-wage worker named Louise Ogborn was strip-searched, sexually assaulted and humiliated for three hours before an off-duty custodian, a ninth-grade dropout, realized what had eluded the restaurant’s managers — that the call from "Officer Scott" was a hoax.

The story was later fictionalized in an episode of "Law and Order: Special Victims Unit" starring Robin Williams as the caller, and in a 2012 movie called “Compliance.”

The Netflix series tells how a rookie police detective named Buddy Stump identified a private prison guard and wannabe police officer in the Florida panhandle as the alleged caller, and how he was acquitted.

In a frame taken from a Mount Washington McDonald's surveillance video that is part of the court record, employee Louise Ogborn expresses shock when assistant manager Donna Jean Summers tells her the caller on the phone, who identified himself as "Officer Scott," said Ogborn would have to be strip-searched. One lawyer described the caller as "a freak who plays God."

“I thought we had an airtight case,” Stump said, recalling how a security video at Walmart seemed to show David Richard Stewart had purchased calling cards used in the hoaxes.

More:New Netflix docuseries 'Don't Pick Up the Phone' delves into infamous McDonalds hoax calls

Stewart, who faced up to 15 years in prison, was acquitted on charges of falsely impersonating a police officer and soliciting sodomy.

The series also notes that the caller called as many as 100 fast food restaurants over 12 years and duped managers into strip-searched young employees on the grounds that they had stolen or committed other crimes. It doesn't explore why so many managers went along with the calls.

Here are other things to know about the Kentucky case:

Who was Louise Ogborn and where is she now?

Louise Ogborn held back tears as she described her feelings after she was strip-searched and sexually assaulted at the orders of a caller who identified himself as "Officer Scott." Ogborn took the stand to testify against McDonald's during her civil lawsuit against the corporation.
Louise Ogborn held back tears as she described her feelings after she was strip-searched and sexually assaulted at the orders of a caller who identified himself as "Officer Scott." Ogborn took the stand to testify against McDonald's during her civil lawsuit against the corporation.

Louise Ogborn, who was a minimum-wage worker at the McDonald’s in Mount Washington in 2004 when she was strip searched and detained for three hours, is now 36 and lives in Taylorsville.

She was singled out because she fit the description of an employee the caller alleged had stolen a purse. She said in a later deposition that she begged to be taken to the police station. She had taken the job after her mother lost her job.

What was Louise Ogborn's settlement amount with McDonald's?

Louise Ogborn won a $6.1 million verdict against McDonald’s that was later settled for a confidential amount.

Who is David Richard Stewart and what was he accused of doing in the McDonald's strip-search case?

David R. Stewart was charged with soliciting sodomy and impersonating a police officer but acquitted at trial in Bullitt County, Kentucky. He now lives in New York state, according to Nexis, a database. At the time of his arrest, he was a married father of five working as a prison guard in Florida. He denied making the calls.

Defendant David Stewart blew a breath of relief after the jury found him not guilty in the Mount Washington McDonald's hoax call that resulted in Louise Ogborn, 18, being strip-searched and sexually assaulted. His attorney, Steve Romines, stood at left.
Defendant David Stewart blew a breath of relief after the jury found him not guilty in the Mount Washington McDonald's hoax call that resulted in Louise Ogborn, 18, being strip-searched and sexually assaulted. His attorney, Steve Romines, stood at left.

Who is Buddy Stump and where is he now?

Detective Buddy Stump, the rookie Mount Washington, Kentucky, detective who tracked down and charged Stewart, has retired.

Who is Walter Nix Jr. and what was he accused of doing in the McDonald's strip-search case?

Walter W. Nix Jr., who claimed he forced Ogborn to sodomize him on the orders of the caller, was convicted of sodomy and assault and sentenced to five years in prison. A former exterminator, he lives in Harlan County. He was engaged to Donna Jean Summers, who was an assistant manager at the McDonald's, but she called off their marriage after the hoax.

A Mount Washington McDonald's surveillance video entered into evidence shows a tearful Louise Ogborn covering her face as Walter Nix Jr. takes more orders from a caller identifying himself as "Officer Scott."
A Mount Washington McDonald's surveillance video entered into evidence shows a tearful Louise Ogborn covering her face as Walter Nix Jr. takes more orders from a caller identifying himself as "Officer Scott."

The movie ‘Compliance’: Is it based on a true story?

“Compliance,” a fictionalized movie that premiered in 2012, is based on what happened at the Mount Washington McDonald's. It can be watched online at Amazon Prime.

Read more about the case:How a caller duped McDonald's managers into strip-searching a worker

How can I stream “Don’t Pick Up the Phone”?

The documentary can be streamed on Netflix.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: 'Don't Pick Up the Phone' on Netflix: Facts about strip-search hoax