Pensioner who slapped teenage waitress on bottom avoids conviction
A married pensioner who sexually harassed young waitresses – one until she cried- won’t go on the register after he was deemed not to be predatory.
A grubby grandad has been slammed for his “boorish” behaviour against two Whitsunday restaurant waitstaff including sexually harassing an underage teen to the point of tears as she tried to work.
But the 76-year-old has been allowed to walk away without a conviction after his gross behaviour was deemed more impulsive than predatory.
Julio Jose had been drinking red wine all day before he arrived drunk at the venue, where his creepy conduct played out, on September 19, 2024.
Mackay District Court heard the married father and grandfather grabbed one server, a 27-year-old woman, forcibly on the wrist and said “you are beautiful, do you want to be my girlfriend tonight?” making her uncomfortable.
He also targeted a younger worker, who was just 13 however it was accepted he believed her to be over 16 years old.
The court heard over about 90 minutes he repeatedly asked her ethnicity, also grabbing her wrist, before slapping her on the bottom with an open hand.
“That was an action obviously motivated by a desire to obtain some form of sexual gratification,” Judge Joshua Trevino KC said.
The court heard the young teen was in tears when she told her boss.
Initially Jose, a pensioner, denied his actions to police which Judge Trevino said indicated “you were not remorseful or prepared to accept responsibility for the shameful behaviour you engaged in”.
“You behaved in an incredibly boorish and entitled manner towards female waitstaff at that restaurant,” Judge Trevino said.
“They were entitled to go about their work as waitstaff, serving customers, free from the risk of being sexually harassed and touched by old men who think they are entitled to behave in such a manner whenever they get a few drinks under their belt.”
It was accepted Jose, who had no criminal history, was drunk at the time but Judge Trevino said it offered no excuse of mitigation.
“Your disinhibited sexual harassment of two young women who were obliged to serve you as a patron of the venue that they worked at is behaviour that should not be tolerated by our community and needs to be denounced in the clearest terms” he said.
“A mature man like you should have been vigilant to guard against losing control of your sexual impulses when setting out to consume alcohol to excess in a public venue like this restaurant.”
Jose pleaded guilty to one count of sexual assault and two counts of common assault, and it was accepted they were early pleas.
Crown prosecutor Rana Aldas submitted it was open for Jose to be given a short term of imprisonment given the seriousness of the offending particularly the persistence and age of the sexual assault victim.
However, Judge Trevino said he was ultimately persuaded by defence barrister Scott McLennan’s push for a fine and no conviction recorded.
Mr McLennan argued a conviction and becoming a registered sex offender might impact Jose’s ability to return to his home country of Portugal where one of his four children was buried or visit his wife’s family in her home country of Italy.
Judge Trevino also accepted Mr McLennan’s submissions that Jose was “deeply embarrassed and ashamed” of his conduct.
“Your conduct towards that young person involved a gross violation of her person in circumstances where it must have been plain to you that she was old enough to be your granddaughters or indeed your great-granddaughter,” Judge Trevino said.
“You had obviously developed a sexual interest in (her) at the time you entered the restaurant.
“But I am prepared to accept that your offending was, at the end of the day, rather impulsive and unthinking rather than predatory.”
Jose was fined $5000 and ordered to pay $500 compensation. Convictions were not recorded.
