Melbourne chef Adrian David Chew jailed for stalking, groping girl, 8, inside toy store
A Melbourne chef who preyed on a terrified girl in a shocking act at Toyworld in Warrnambool is appealing his jail sentence.
Police & Courts
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A Melbourne chef who stalked and groped an eight-year-old girl while she looked at dolls in a toy store last year thinks he does not deserve to be thrown in the slammer.
CCTV captured Adrian David Chew preying on the terrified girl for six minutes in shocking predatory behaviour while shopping at Toyworld in Warrnambool with his three-year-old son in November.
Wearing a baseball cap, he could be seen following the girl into the doll aisle where he used his right hand to grab her dress and rub her bottom.
The father of one, who is head chef at a cafe in Degraves St in Melbourne CBD, then walked to the end of the aisle to scope if anyone was nearby.
In every parent’s worst nightmare, he returned to the unsupervised girl, stood behind her and touched her buttocks for about four seconds before walking off.
Chew, 45, of Brunswick West, did not stop there, repeatedly returning to the aisle to approach the girl, who tried to escape his clutches, backing away from him.
Following a third sexual assault, the victim ran to her mum in a nearby aisle and told her what happened.
The mother immediately confronted Chew while he was at the counter paying for a Captain America shield and other kids’ craft items.
He denied the allegations and left the store. The mother and staff were horrified on viewing the CCTV and reported the incident to police.
Officers arrested Chew at a children’s playground. He gave a “no comment” interview.
The horrifying details of his offending were revealed as Chew pleaded guilty at Warrnambool Magistrates Court on Friday to two charges of intentionally sexually touching a child under the age of 16.
His lawyer Tania Bolton relied on her client’s early guilty plea and lack of relevant criminal priors to seek a non-custodial punishment, submitting the offending was “at the lower end of the scale” of sexual assaults on children.
But magistrate Gerard Lethbridge expressed concern she was unable to provide any explanation for his “unusual and peculiar” behaviour.
“Nor has anything been put to satisfy the court that you do not pose any significant risk in the future,” he told Chew.
The magistrate jailed Chew for three months, saying the community and court strongly denounced offences against vulnerable children.
“The CCTV is very telling in exactly the way he behaves,” he said. “It’s in a public place, it’s a toy store, for God’s sake.”
He added: “Let there be no mistake Mr Chew that this was serious offending with the potential to do an enormous amount of harm to an innocent child.”
Mr Lethbridge told Chew on his release from custody he must complete a 21-month community correction order “to hopefully maximise your chances of never committing an offence like this again”.
He also said he would be placed on the sex offender’s register for eight years.
But Chew is yet to spend a night behind bars after he appealed the sentence and was given bail. His appeal will be heard in the County Court.
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