A judge says the employer of a chef found guilty of sexually harassing young female workers needs a “wake-up call” as the offender continues to be employed at the restaurant.
Sumeer Thapa was sentenced in the Christchurch District Court on Tuesday to four months’ home detention after a jury found him guilty of seven counts of indecently assaulting four women aged between 15 and 18 between 2021 and 2024.
The women worked as servers at Lazeez Mediterranean Grill and assisted with food preparation. For many of them, it was their first job.
“They would come along to work excited by this new step in their lives and happy,” Judge Deidre Orchard said at sentencing.
“Instead, in all instances, they were left with an impact on their self-confidence and not enjoy their work as they hoped to… approaching each workday with trepidation.”
Thapa would make flirtatious and improper comments towards the women, such as calling them “hot”, “sexy” and “baby”.
He told two of the women he wanted to get drunk with them and would buy them alcohol, despite them being underage.
He asked one woman whether she would be his Māori wife, and another to send him “hot pics”. He also asked whether one of the women had sex with her boyfriend.
The harassment was also physical, with the women saying he would touch them on their backs, thighs and buttocks.
While Judge Orchard noted the touching was brief, she said on one or two occasions his hands would linger.
During sentencing, Judge Orchard said Thapa was not a good candidate for rehabilitation because he did not accept that he had done anything wrong.
“He needs to come to terms with the fact that his behaviour does amount to sexual harassment – not just the touching, but obviously the way he speaks to young female employees at all is totally unacceptable.
“He needs to adjust his behaviour because if he doesn’t, he will end up taking the consequences.”
She said his employer, who continued to employ him, needed a “wake-up call”. She said the employer had provided a testimonial to the court.
Judge Orchard said Thapa’s name and the restaurant he works at should be published to protect any potential future workers.
“Youngsters need to know if the places they are choosing to work have somebody working there who has offended in this way against young employees.”
The Crown sought a starting point of 18 months’ imprisonment, however, Judge Orchard adopted a starting point of 12 months.
She gave a significant deduction due to Thapa offering to give emotional harm payments of $1000 to each victim, which must be paid to the victims by the end of the day.
Judge Orchard settled on four months of community detention with a curfew from 10pm to 8am each day due to his work hours.
“I am hopeful this experience will have brought home to you that you need to conduct yourself appropriately in the workplace towards young women,” Judge Orchard said.
Thapa would not be added to the sex offenders’ register.
By Molly Swift of rnz.co.nz
