Former Brisbane chef accused of sexual assault said it was ‘all just a joke’: court

A former Brisbane chef accused of more than 20 offences including the sexual assault and stalking of young women told another employee who allegedly witnessed the behaviour “it was all just a joke”.

Mitchell James Efeimoff, 34, was charged last month with 18 counts of sexual assault and four counts of unlawful stalking, intimidation or harassment.

Mitchell Efeimoff was charged with multiple sexual assault and stalking offences.

Before his arrest, he had been working for hospitality venues across Brisbane for more than 15 years.

Efeimoff, who has been in custody for two months, applied for bail in the Supreme Court in Brisbane on Monday.

But Crown prosecutor Stephanie Gallagher told the court Efeimoff had dismissed his alleged behaviour as a joke.

She said another employee allegedly saw Efeimoff touch the women on their hips and back.

“He’s actually seen some messages including one from [Efeimoff] saying ‘I can’t stop looking at your boobs’ sent to one of the complainants,” Gallagher told the hearing.

That witness also said Efeimoff told him the alleged offending was “all just a joke”, Gallagher said.

In an online profile, Mitchell Efeimoff published a photo of himself working in a kitchen.

The court heard several women, all of whom younger than 18 except one, had reported Efeimoff.

Gallagher opposed Efeimoff’s bail application, arguing he could reoffend outside the workplace.

“There is a large number of complainants, and it’s not just, one might think, a workplace environment where that risk arises that he’s in a position with young women that he has some kind of authority over,” she told the court.

Efeimoff’s barrister, Daniel Caruana, argued Efeimoff could be released from custody under a range of conditions, including that he live in Dalby, west of Brisbane, and complete a sexual offending program.

Caruana said his client had already spent two months in custody, which was a deterrent for future offending.

The court heard Efeimoff allegedly committed some of the offences while he was on bail for other offending, which his barrister said was similar in nature. In the earlier case, Efeimoff received a 15 months’ wholly suspended sentence, the court heard.

Gallagher said she was concerned Efeimoff would not immediately go into a sexual offending program if released, and that he would instead be placed on a wait list.

She also said Efeimoff had told probation authorities he did not need intervention and cited evidence from a psychologist that was put before the sentencing judge in his previous case.

“So, on the back of these six sessions, he’s got a report saying he’s low risk and he uses that to say to the probation authorities, ‘I don’t care what you assess me as, I don’t need it’, and that’s a concerning feature,” Gallagher said.

Justice Thomas Bradley asked the defence barrister how Efeimoff, if released, could attend counselling sessions in Beenleigh while living in Dalby, while also attempting to find and manage employment.

The defence barrister asked for the bail application to be adjourned to determine if there was a suitable employment option for Efeimoff if he was released.

Bradley was due to make a decision on the bail application within days.

Support is available from the National Sexual Assault, Domestic Family Violence Counselling Service at 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).