Domino’s Pizza teen sex assault scandal revealed, predatory manager

Several teenage girls were preyed upon by a manager who was relentless in his attacks over numerous years. This is the Domino’s Pizza store sex assault scandal.

The manager of a Queensland Domino’s Pizza sexually assaulted seven teenage girls, it has been revealed.

The manager of a Queensland Domino’s Pizza store has failed in his bid to have his sentence for sexual assault of seven teen girls, and the assault of an eighth victim, slashed on appeal to the state’s highest court.

In the Court of Appeal on Friday, three judges – Debra Mullins, Philip Morrison and John Bond – unanimously ruled that the 18-month jail sentence, suspended after serving five months, was an appropriate punishment for Ashley James Downs.

Downs pleaded guilty to 10 counts of sexual assault and four counts of common assault and sentenced by Judge Jennifer Rosengren in the District Court in Southport on October 13.

Judge Rosengren found Downs knew his conduct was wrong, but persisted nonetheless.

The 41-year-old had appealed, claiming he should not have had to spend any time behind bars and his sentence should have been immediately suspended.

The first two complainants were assaulted in 2007 to 2008, the other six were assaulted in 2017 to 2019, the decision states.

The manager preyed on girls aged between 15 and 17.

All of the complainants were aged between 15 and 17 years at the time, while Downs was aged 25 to 26 years old for the first two complainants, and 35 to 37 years for the other six, the court heard.

The first victim was standing at a bench and Downs walked up behind her and unclipped her bra, placed both his hands on the front of her breasts and squeezed them.

He laughed and said it was a “hand bra”.

The next victim was assaulted in 2008 when Down’s grabbed one of her breasts and commented “Look …, they are growing” as he squeezed it.

He then squeezed her other breast and said “that one is growing too”, as they sat in the store’s car after delivering a pizza.

The common assault conviction relates to a teen girl who he punched in the breast and then he told her “I can tell you’re wearing a push up bra”.

She told him to “f*** off” and asked how he could tell.

Later in 2019, he whipped the same teen on the bottom with an apron because she put the wrong sauce on a pizza, she responded, “Ouch, f*** off”, and Downs replied, “toughen up princess”.

On another date Downs whipped the same teen on the bottom with an apron.

Downs was convicted of grazing his hand over the top of the breasts of a third teen victim in the 2018-2019 period, and smacking her on the bottom.

The fourth victim was sexually assaulted in a cold room in late 2019 when Downs leaned over her and grazed both her breasts after she fell to the ground when he was tickling her.

He again brushed the back of his hand across her breasts of the fifth victim in a carpark in late 2019.

The final victim was sexually assaulted by Downs late at night when he pushed his bottom into her stomach.

He was charged by police on November 20, 2021.

He told his sentencing hearing that he was sorry for his actions, and told a psychologist that he was just trying to be “fun”.

But the appeal court judges rejected the submission that he was just trying to be “fun”.