Paul Christopher Cozzi pleads guilty in Chinchilla Magistrates Court to common assault

A court has been told things got heated in a Chinchilla worker’s camp kitchen after a chef assaulted his female co-worker. Here’s what happened.

Paul Christopher Cozzi pleaded guilty in Chinchilla Magistrates Court to common assault.

The high pressures of the hospitality industry were to blame for why a male chef assaulted his female colleague at a Chinchilla workers camp kitchen.

Paul Christopher Cozzi pleaded guilty in Chinchilla Magistrates Court to one count of common assault.

Police prosecutor Chris Hutchins said the victim attended the Chinchilla police station to report an assault that occurred on July 19 at her workplace Base Camp Chinchilla.

She said at about 10.20am that morning a male colleague she knew assaulted her.

“She was at her place of employment working her shift as a chef from midnight to 10am. The victim stated Paul would normally take over at 10am,” Mr Hutchins said.

“The victim stated she needed to speak to Paul in relation to catering. She had a conversation with him and it escalated into a heated argument, he got right up in her face.

“The victim spoke to another person and then went to grab her bag to go home. Paul has then come up to her with a piece of paper and it’s escalated again.

“He’s got right up close to her, his forehead has touched her forehead with enough force to, not a headbutt, but he’s got up close, pushed her and she’s moved back and stumbled.

“The victim stated Paul said ‘if you punch me, I’ll knock you out’ … he hasn’t directly threatened violence but he would assault her if she assaulted him.

“There’s a level of intimidation.

“It’s a very low level assault. (The assault) really is him putting his forehead against her forehead, pushing her and she’s stumbled back.

“Being a former butcher myself, I’m aware chefs, butchers,bakers, sometimes this behaviour is not uncommon.

“But I certainly have been assaulted in the workplace which wasn’t uncommon, and that’s how back in the day apprentices were supposed to sort things out, but you just can’t in 2023.”

Defence lawyer Brad Skuse said his client accepted he overreacted to an argument in a stressful situation.

“The kitchen is a very highly stressful place, your honour, there was some catering that needed to be collected at that time and he made arrangements to go in early in relation to that,” Mr Skuse said.

“There was no authority that my client had over the complainant, they were both working as chefs… it’s not like my client was the employer… which could have perhaps aggravated the situation.”

Mr Skuse asked the magistrate to not record a conviction so it wouldn’t hinder the defendant’s future employment prospects.

Acting magistrate Andrew Walker agreed to not record a conviction because of Cozzi’s cooperation with authorities and dated history.

“I don’t know anything about the hospitality industry… I’ve got no doubt at all things can get a bit heated at times, with all the pressure that’s going on, it’s the way you reacted,” Mr Walker said.

“There’s no injury and it’s not a case where you were in a supervisory role, where there’s also intimidation and other matters like that.”

Cozzi was fined $300, referred to SPER, and no conviction was recorded.

Originally published as Paul Christopher Cozzi pleads guilty in Chinchilla Magistrates Court to common assault