Threesome, bum grab case dropped as boss feels vindicated
A millionaire Queensland businessman accused of propositioning a young staffer for a “threesome” with his wife and grabbing her bottom at his company’s office says he feels vindicated and insists he is a family man after she dropped her case on the eve of trial.
Police & Courts
Don't miss out on the headlines from Police & Courts. Followed categories will be added to My News.
A millionaire Queensland businessman says he feels vindicated and insists he is a family man after a young staffer dropped her case – in which she had alleged he asked her for a threesome with his wife and grabbed her bottom – on the eve of trial.
Ashleigh Martinovic, the former marketing manager of Kingston-based TFH Hire Services Pty Ltd (TFH) dropped her sexual harassment case against TFH managing director Brett Thomas in the Federal Court in Brisbane on Thursday.
Ms Martinovic filed a discontinuance notice with the court and both sides agreed that they would each pay their own costs.
She declined to comment when approached through her solicitor. Mr Thomas’ lawyer said the case had been “resolved by agreement”.
The decision to drop the case came one working day before the two week trial was due to start on Monday.
Sleaze claims hit Titans sponsor TFH Hire Services’ managing director Brett Thomas
Call records, texts revealed in “threesome” sex harass lawsuit
Titans sponsor TFH Hire Services’ managing director Brett Thomas denies sexual harassment claims
Thomas hired “crisis managers” Wilkinson Butler to comment to The Courier Mail within hours of the confidential settlement with Ms Martinovic, and released a statement.
“As a proud father to a young daughter, I abhor any form of harassment against women. The very thought of it makes me feel sick to my stomach,” the statement sent by firm read.
“I feel vindicated that my good character and integrity has withstood this difficult process.
“For over 23-years, I have run a family-owned and operated business. Over that time, I have built a reputation in the community as a decent, honest, and hard-working family man. In that same period, our companies have developed strong community ties and grown a reputation of integrity and professionalism in the industry.
“It has been a very distressing time for my wife, my children and my family. I want to thank my family, friends, business associates and the many good people in the community who never wavered in their support of me throughout this time.”
According to her statement of claim, Ms Martinovic was seeking $815,793 in damages claiming persistent sexual harassment continued over 15 months in 2017 and 2018.
The trial before Justice Darryl Rangiah was due to decide whether Mr Thomas sexually harassed Ms Martinovic, then if Mr Thomas had been found liable a damages figure would have been calculated.
Mr Thomas has repeatedly denied propositioning Ms Martinovic for “threesomes” with his wife and another employee on more than one occasion, according to court documents.
The 52-year-old refuted claims he touched the 24-year-old on the buttocks in the office more than once, made lewd comments to her during work meetings and slept with a co-worker after a Titans game in Sydney just metres from Ms Martinovic, according to court documents.
In court documents, Ms Martinovic claimed the persistent sexual harassment has left her unable to work.
During pre-trial case hearings Mr Thomas’s lawyers initially tried to force Ms Martinovic to hand over her full psychiatric history for the past decade, but later dropped this bid.
His lawyers instead asked the court’s approval to issue subpoena’s to doctors Ms Martinovic saw while working for TFH and Black Listed Collections in 2017 and 2018.
TFH was last year in the spotlight over a controversy over its six-figure NRL sponsorship and its decision to pull the pin on its long-term sponsorship of the Gold Coast Titans, citing Ryan James’s “embarrassing” and “offensive” Welcome To Country gaffe during the Grand Final.
Mr Thomas later backflipped on his decision to kill the sponsorship deal.