HICKORY, N.C. — A former restaurant owner is facing 52 child sex crime charges. He’s accused of downloading images depicting child sexual abuse at his restaurant.
Max’s Mexican Eatery had been open for 40 years in Hickory before it closed last summer.
According to the search warrant, the initial tip in the case came from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Court documents say police got the warrant earlier this month for the owner’s home after he refused to allow them to search it. According to the documents, Hickory police had already begun an investigation into Kelly Setzer, the owner of Max’s Mexican Eatery. Their investigation involved child sexual abuse imagery.
Several former workers told Channel 9′s Dave Faherty on Tuesday they had no idea about the allegations until Setzer’s arrest earlier this month.
“Shocking, very shocking,” one worker said. “And it’s very hard to believe that such a great man would do something like this.”
At Setzer’s home Tuesday, police seized a laptop, phones and thumb drives.
Now, he is facing 52 counts of sex crimes, including multiple counts of indecent liberties with children along with sexual exploitation of a minor.
The restaurant was well-known in the Hickory area. Glen Pugh said he ate there more than 20 times.
“Always had good food. No complaints. Good service. Good people that worked there,” he said.
Court documents say one of the IP addresses for the cyber tip came back to the restaurant’s address in southwest Hickory.
One man told Faherty he worked for Max’s Mexican Eatery on and off for more than 10 years and was stunned by Setzer’s arrest.
“I was very floored on the charges. Very floored,” he said.
The arrest warrants indicate the victims varied in age and gender. The youngest was identified as a 1-year-old boy.
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