Geelong chef Michael Kawana found guilty of rape after County Court trial
An award-winning Geelong chef has been found guilty of rape and other sexual assaults after a four day trial.
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An award-winning Geelong chef has been found guilty of rape and other sexual assaults after a four day trial.
Michael Kawana, 53, faced the County Court in Geelong on seven charges including two counts of rape by digital penetration, four counts of sexual assault and one count of sexual assault by compelling sexual touching.
On Friday, a jury found him guilty on all counts after almost two days of deliberating.
Kawana is a former head chef at the Fisherman’s Pier seafood restaurant and also worked at Feed Me Bellarine.
It is the second time a jury has found him guilty of the same charges after he won an appeal against the original conviction last year.
The four incidents happened between 2018 and 2020, all with the same complainant.
The court heard in one of the alleged rapes, Kawana pushed the woman against a wall and penetrated her with his fingers as she protested.
“I tried to wriggle free … I told him to stop,” the court heard during the trial, which began on February 28.
Crown prosecutor, Andrew McKenry, earlier told the jury they could use a recorded police telephone call of Kawana against him, in which he made admissions towards his conduct.
Kawana allegedly said what he did “wasn’t the right thing” during the call made by the victim in October 2021 from a police station.
The prosecution also provided evidence by a witness who allegedly saw one of the assaults, used text messages exchanged between the victim and the accused to convict him.
Sentencing has been set for a later date.
In June 2023, Kawana was sentenced to a maximum of seven years and seven months’ in prison on the same charges before appealing.
He was granted a new trial in the Victorian Court of Appeals in 2024.
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Originally published as Geelong chef Michael Kawana found guilty of rape after County Court trial
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