Bart Mustoc, 52, found guilty in Taree court of sexually touching woman at Telstra shop in Manning Mall

A man found guilty of sexually touching a young female worker in a northern NSW Telstra shop tried to blame her for standing “the way she did”. Here’s what happened when he fronted court.

Bart Mustoc outside Taree Local Court on Thursday.

A man found guilty of sexually touching a young female worker in a northern NSW Telstra store tried to blame her for standing “the way she did”, a Mid-North Coast court heard.

Bart Mustoc pleaded not guilty to a charge of sexual touching without consent – but Magistrate Allison Hawkins found him guilty on Thursday.

It followed a Taree Local Court hearing during which the young woman was forced to recall the offending against her.

Mustoc, 52, pleaded guilty to assault in relation to the incident.

The victim said Mustoc whispered “tickle tickle” in her ear and touched her breasts from behind on August 10 last year – a claim Mustoc adamantly denied.

Store surveillance footage was played for the court in which Mustoc could be seen entering the shop in the Manning Mall and walking directly towards the woman from behind.
She was leaning over, helping a trainee at the time.

Bart Mustoc outside the court.

Mustoc’s lawyer Gus Farland told the court the touch with both hands from behind was momentary and his client was trying to get past and into a booth.

However, Mr Farland told the court Mustoc accepted he could have gotten around the worker without touching her, and that was why he pleaded guilty to the assault charge.

Mr Farland said the touching was not done for sexual gratification and while it was “ill-advised” it was not carried out in private in a “dimly lit area”, but in a busy workplace.

Police prosecutor Cherie Harmer told the court when Mustoc was interviewed by police he said words to the effect of “if she didn’t stand the way she did, I wouldn’t have touched her”.

After viewing the CCTV footage a number of times, Ms Hawkins told the court rather than moving past the woman, Mustoc “pushes himself closer”.

The Manning Mall, Taree. Picture: Facebook.

She said the touching, which was firm and came from behind, would not have been expected and the woman, who is significantly younger than Mustoc, was “clearly emotionally affected”.

Ms Hawkins told the court Mustoc “invaded her personal space with a sexual approach”.

She said based on the woman’s evidence and CCTV, she accepted the victim’s version of events, and if Mustoc’s hands were not directly on her breasts they were “perilously close”.

Mustoc, who appeared earlier in the day in a bright Mambo design shirt, returned after the court lunch break for sentencing in a noticeably more subdued white long sleeve.

He shook his head as the guilty verdict became apparent.

Ms Hawkins ordered a sentencing assessment report and adjourned to May 1.

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