---

Business Owner Arrested After Allegedly Spanking Two Employees
Paul Eugene Levengood, 57, was charged with two counts of sexual battery after the 19-year-old women complained.

One of the women told police that on her first day at the Tasty Flavors Sno Biz, Levengood made her sign a statement that said: "I give Gene permission to bust my behind any way he sees fit."


Police Sgt. Jay LaMance said the women likely accepted the spankings instead of leaving immediately because they were "brought up to respect anybody who is an authority figure."...

... She said that as punishment Levengood "bent her over his knee and spanked her behind 20 times." She said that a day earlier he "snapped a photograph of her behind" as she reached for a bottle on a shelf.

Levengood was freed on $2,000 bail pending a Nov. 16 court hearing. His franchise in this Chattanooga suburb was closed Tuesday.

At the company headquarters in Minneapolis, sales manager Tom Novetzke described Levengood as a "very Christian person," adding that "We've never had a complaint."