Miguel Dantas De Sa jailed for sexual abuse of waitress, 16, meaning he and his family will be deported to Portugal
An Adelaide cafe identity has been jailed for offering a teenage waitress $200 for sex and assaulting her, with a judge praising the victim’s strength. Now he and his family will be deported.
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A cafe identity has been jailed for trying to buy a teenage waitress for sex for $200, triggering deportation for his whole family – and a judge says he is “entirely to blame” for his fate.
On Thursday, the District Court sentenced Miguel Dantas De Sa to 2 ½ years’ jail and ordered he serve at least 13 months before becoming eligible for parole.
The sentence breaches the “good character” conditions of De Sa’s visa – making deportation for him and his family almost inevitable when he is paroled.
In sentencing, Judge Liesl Chapman said De Sa’s punishment had to “prevent other like-minded employers” from exploiting young people.
“You sexually exploited the imbalance of power between yourself and your employee … she did the brave and right thing and went to the police,” she said.
“She has been able to process her experience and realise, quite properly, that you are entirely to blame for what happened.
“You’ve not demonstrated any contrition, remorse nor insight into your offending … I have no difficulty accepting her evidence (about the crime) and rejecting yours.”
De Sa, 28, of Ashford, was found guilty at trial of two aggravated counts of indecent assault and one aggravated count of communicating with a child to procure sexual activity.
He is well known in Adelaide’s hospitality industry for his work at venues including the Rydges Hotel, the Lady Burra Brewhouse and La Taberna.
In 2016 he took the girl into a cafe’s cool room, locked the door and asked her sexually provocative questions including what she “would do for $200”.
He also caused her to expose herself, touched her inappropriately and offered to make her his “best girl”.
Two weeks ago, his victim told the court De Sa had robbed her of her self-worth and left her feeling disgusted and guilty by trying to “buy her for sex”.
He begged the court for mercy, saying a prison term would activate federal law that would see both him and his entire family deported to Portugal.
De Sa said his mother, father and sister’s residency was dependent on his still-ongoing, yet temporary, Australian visa.
On Thursday, Judge Chapman said she had taken the De Sa’s future into consideration when determining the sentence.
However, she said the “protection and safety of the community”, particularly young people working their first jobs, remained her “paramount consideration”.
“A strong message must be sent to the community that behaviour like this will be met with strong penalty,” she said.
De Sa has already filed an appeal against his convictions.
