Robert Reeves of Lacey, former owner of the Rib Eye restaurant in Napavine, filed for personal bankruptcy last month, citing debts in excess of $250,000.
According to court documents filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, the majority of the debt was accrued when Reeves owned the Rib Eye restaurants in Napavine and Olympia.
Reeves filed for Chapter 7 protection on April 11, owing debtors $255,116. His personal assets total less than $50,000, according to court papers.
In 2004, Reeves, 65, was sentenced by a Lewis County Superior Court judge to six months in jail and to sexual deviance treatment after pleading guilty to four counts of child molestation.
Peter Beck and Sandra Radcliffe-Beck purchased the Rib Eye restaurants from Reeves soon after his sentencing, and have since opened another one in Vader.
Radcliffe-Beck said she had not heard about Reeves' bankruptcy filing.
"We have nothing to do with him at all," she said Tuesday.
According to Radcliffe-Beck, the restaurant has struggled to restore its image in the community.
"When we purchased it, we had no idea of everything we would inherit," she said.
Reeves' lawyer was not able to be reached for comment.
