A Queensland pub manager is facing prison over his behaviour at a Christmas party, where he is said to have groped and assaulted two teenage girls.
42-year-old Samuel McGrath appeared this week before Noosa Magistrates Court, where he pleaded guilty to charges of common assault and sexual assault.
Evidence presented to the Court centred around events of a party on 10 November, 2021.
The gathering began at a Noosaville restaurant, where McGrath reportedly grabbed a 19-year-old girl around the waist, without her consent. After the restaurant the group moved to a Noosa River ferry, where the same woman felt McGrath squeeze her buttock, and later, as she was bent over helping two people McGrath touched her inappropriately between her legs, prompting her to reel and yell at him “don’t put your fucking hand on me”.
After the ferry cruise, a group was standing on the shore when a 16-year-old girl received a loud slap on the butt by McGrath.
He appeared before Court supported by his wife and family, where his defence offered he had been a manager at the Peregian Beach Hotel, and had drinking to an unhealthy degree toward the end of 2021, under stress from the pressures of COVID restrictions and the fact his wife was undergoing treatment for cancer.
The defence stated his client was drunk when the events took place. He apologised to the two women soon after, and began seeing a mental health professional, where he has expressed remorse and shame over the incident.
Defence proffered that the actions were out of character, and that he had stepped back from his role at the pub and now had his drinking under control.
In victim impact statements presented by the police prosecutor, the 19-year-old said how she was left with feelings of distrust, while the 16-year-old spoke of a “betrayal of trust so deep”.
Presiding over the case, Magistrate Haydn Stjernqvist noted that a prison sentence was not unreasonable nor out of the question.
He informed the court he needed more time to make a decision, adjourning the matter until 6 December.