Adelaide cafe owner Miguel Dantas De Sa convicted of grooming, indecently assaulting female waitress, 16
He’s a well-known figure in Adelaide’s hospitality scene, but this cafe mainstay is now a convicted child sex offender after his lewd and illegal attempts to groom a 16-year-old waitress.
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An Adelaide hospitality identity who asked a teenage waitress to be his “best girl”, offering her $200 and Victoria’s Secret lingerie in exchange for sex has been convicted of indecent assault.
In a judgment published online, the District Court has found Miguel Dantas De Sa also attempted to groom the girl, then 16, by promising her more frequent work shifts.
Judge Liesl Chapman, who heard De Sa’s trial in the absence of a jury, said she was satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the girl had given truthful evidence about De Sa.
“Her answers were thoughtful and measured … I consider she was doing her best to remember that evening at work – an evening which remains distressing,” she said.
“I got no sense of her embellishing what occurred … she presented as an honest person who was put in a difficult, awkward and compromising situation by her employer.”
De Sa, 28, of Ashford, pleaded not guilty to two aggravated counts of indecent assault and one aggravated count of communicating with a child to procure sexual activity.
In her judgment, Judge Chapman said the girl – whose identity is suppressed under state law – worked with De Sa at a cafe in 2016.
“While in the coolroom he asked her what she would do for $200 … she thought it was a work-related question and said she would clean out the storeroom,” she said.
“He asked her to come over and sit on his lap (saying) he ‘didn’t bite’ (and) asked her questions about what type of sex she had had.
“He asked her if she would have sex with him for $200, she did not answer … he asked if she would give him a massage for $20, she said she was not very good at giving massages.”
Judge Chapman said that, after receiving a short massage, De Sa then asked the girl about her underwear and, while touching her, caused her to expose herself for five minutes.
“She complied … she felt there was no other option but to pull her pants down – he was her boss so she did what he said,” she said.
She said that, when the girl managed to get away from De Sa, he “asked her to think about his offer, that she could negotiate” and that he had “a shack that was nearby”.
“He told her she would be his best girl, she would get more shifts if she accepted his offer and not to tell anyone,” she said.
Later, he “sent her a text message asking her what size she was because he wanted to buy her some Victoria’s Secret underwear”.
Judge Chapman said the girl told her mother, leading to De Sa’s arrest – he denied all wrongdoing, saying none of the alleged actions had occurred.
“He described her as a very unreliable worker,” she said.
She said De Sa’s testimony did “not ring true” and that she did not find him “to be a credible witness generally”, and found him guilty of all charges.
De Sa will face sentencing submissions next month.
