BOSTON (AP) – A convicted rapist fired from his job at a McDonald’s after a woman told management he was a registered sex offender is suing the restaurant’s owner and the woman, claiming information about him on the state’s Sex Offender Registry Board was misused.

Scott Gagnon, 50, of Tewksbury, claims in his suit filed Monday in Middlesex Superior Court that Andrea Quinn of Tewksbury violated language on the board’s Web site that says information on sex offenders cannot be used “to commit a crime or to engage in illegal discrimination or harassments of an offender.” Doing so could result in jail time or a fine.

Gagnon was released just over a year ago after spending 27 years in prison following his guilty plea to multiple counts of rape. He is suing Quinn for alleged emotional distress and invasion of privacy, and suing McDonald’s for alleged breach of contract.

He is classified as a Level 3 sex offender, considered the most likely to re-offend.

The lawsuit seeks a jury trial and unspecified damages.

“What Ms. Quinn did was completely contrary to the rules and regulations of the Sex Offender Registry Board, and in fact we assert that what she did was a crime,” said Gagnon’s lawyer, William Korman.

Quinn was not immediately available for comment on Tuesday, but she told the Boston Herald that she was concerned about her 13-year-old son, who visits the Tewksbury McDonald’s. She said she did not mean for Gagnon to lose his job.

The company that owns the McDonald’s, Napoli Group LLC of Windham, N.H., issued a statement Tuesday that said “The safety and well-being of our customers and employees is a top priority. We take these matters seriously.”

Owner Peter Napoli told the Herald that company policy prohibits the hiring of sex offenders.

A spokesman for the Sex Offender Registry Board refused comment.

Gagnon received treatment for almost the entire time he was behind bars, Korman said.

He spent seven months after his release looking for a job and was hired by the Tewksbury McDonald’s in September to work in the kitchen but not the counter, according to the suit.

“When he was hired he was completely up front with them,” Korman said. “He told them about his history, he told them he was a sex offender and they hired him regardless.”

There were never any complaints about his job performance and there were never any accusations of wrongdoing on the job, Korman said.

Gagnon was fired last week just days after Quinn brought his past to the attention of management.

“He’s a shining example of someone doing everything he’s supposed to do and still getting a raw deal at the end of the day,” Korman said.

AP-ES-04-01-08 1732EDT