Michael Phillip Touzell: Doubt cast over teens’ sexual touching, kiss allegations
A barista’s barrister has questioned the credibility of two teenagers accusing his client of sexual touching, claiming the account of one boy contained “embellishments”.
The Express
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Doubts have been cast over two teenagers’ allegations that they were sexually touched by a barista at a popular Sydney cafe.
Michael Phillip Touzell, 28, returned to Bankstown Local Court on Tuesday, accused of sexually touching two 15-year-old boys and demanding they “give him a kiss” while he was working as a barista in the city’s southwest between March and May last year.
He has pleaded not guilty to four counts each of intentionally sexually touching a child under 16 and common assault.
On Tuesday, Touzell’s fiance, Rachel Katherine Keith, appearing as a character witness, told the court the allegations were “extremely inconsistent” with her experience of his behaviour.
Ms Keith said she first met Touzell eight-and-a-half years ago when the pair worked together at a club, describing him as having been “very professional” and “appropriate” towards her.
She told the court that after leaving her job, the pair began a relationship and were now engaged.
Ms Keith also said Touzell had babysat a child on numerous occasions, and played sport with kids at social gatherings.
However, she conceded that she had never witnessed his interactions with children while he was employed at the cafe and that it had been several years since she had worked alongside him.
Defence barrister Wali Shukoor said the teenagers’ inability to recall details of their own allegations called into question their credibility and reliability.
He also noted that CCTV footage played in court on Monday appeared to contradict allegations made to police that one of the boys rejected coffee made by Touzell after the barista allegedly demanded a “peck on the cheek”.
Mr Shukoor also told the court “embellishments” made by one of the boys during his evidence on Monday had been inconsistent with the original allegations made to police.
He said the lack of “objective evidence”, coupled with the inconsistent evidence, did not prove the allegations beyond reasonable doubt.
“I’m not asking that your honour would hold their accounts to an unrealistic standard,” Mr Shukoor said.
“It has been several months. But there is only one standard of proof and that is beyond reasonable doubt.”
However, prosecutor Brendan Donnelly maintained while the two teenagers had “difficulty remembering” exact details, their claims of similar alleged offending established a “powerful pattern of behaviour” by the accused.
“It is the Crown’s submission that the accused had a tendency to act on sexual interest, including the request for kisses, the stroking of the hand, touching on the bottom which is an intimate area,” Mr Donnelly said.
The prosecutor also alleged that Touzell had offended “brazenly in the workplace” against people much younger than him.
“Anyone in the workplace should know that it is inappropriate to touch a 15-year-old like that,” Mr Donnelly said.
The case is set to return to court for a decision in February next year, with Touzell to remain on bail until then.
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A southwest Sydney man allegedly touched two teenagers on their bottoms and told one of them to “give me a peck on the cheek” while working as a barista at a popular cafe.