The former chief of staff of a former prime ministerial candidate sexually assaulted four of his female staffers.
Frank Zumbo has been found guilty of assaulting four women during the years he worked as chief of staff for former Liberal MP Craig Kelly.
Zumbo was confronted on Friday by magistrate Gareth Christofi with the details of his abuse.
The trial began in June 2022 and between 2014 and 2020, more than twenty charges of sexual touching and indecent assault and one of common assault are alleged to have occurred.
Zumbo was found guilty of seven charges of aggravated sexual assault of a victim under the authority of the perpetrator, and one charge of assault with an act of indecency.
Frank Zumbo has been found guilty of assaulting four women during his years working as chief of staff to former Liberal MP Craig Kelly.
Zumbo’s attacks are alleged to have taken place between 2014 and 2020, while Kelly was an MP
One of Zumbo’s victims said she was no longer “pure” after he took her first kiss and placed his hand on her crotch and breasts.
“I thought something like this wouldn’t happen until I got married,” she texted a friend after the incident. as reported by the Guardian.
Zumbo was also accused of exposing his penis to an employee at the park, groping and sexually assaulting others and demanding displays of affection.
A fifth woman came forward with her own story of Zumbo’s sexual touching in his office, but the allegation was dismissed by the court.
Much of the evidence used in the investigation was covertly recorded by the women who claimed Zumbo assaulted them.
Zumbo pleaded not guilty to all charges and admitted that he had done so regularly hugged and kissed his female staff due to his Italian heritage
Magistrate Christofi found Zumbo guilty of one count in Willoughby, South Sydney, when the suspect pulled a co-worker in for a kiss with his penis sticking out of his fly.
It was also found that Zumbo indecently assaulted another young woman in his car on the way home the electorate office by touching her thigh.
The employee said she had put a vest over her legs to prevent this from happening, but Zumbo had thrown it into the backseat.
During the ordeal, the female employee made an audio recording of the incident, which was later used as evidence in court.
In court, Zumbo claimed he tossed the vest aside to make sure the employee was honest about the temperature in the car.
But Magistrate Christofi said Zumbo was unconvincing in his answers and that he “has significantly eroded the court’s confidence in its evidence.
Several of Zumbo’s victims recorded their altercations with him, which were used as evidence in court
Another attack by Zumbo took place in his car after he took the woman away a restaurant for dinner to celebrate her birthday.
This altercation was also recorded and used as evidence against Zumbo in court.
Zumbo told the staffer that he had feelings for her and that he planned to become intimate with her.
He presented the woman with a gift card for her birthday, but reportedly reacted badly when she wouldn’t hug or kiss him in return, then asked her to do so.
“To put it bluntly, he didn’t take no for an answer,” Christofi told the court.
Several of these women said they worried about their careers if they didn’t agree to Zumbo’s advances, especially after being offered a job in his office and received help with their legal degrees.
One of his victims spoke to reporters outside the court on condition of anonymity and said the sentence was fair.
“Today has been a day of relief for me because it seems like this huge weight has been lifted,” she said.
‘I was able to tell my truth. After so many years of covering up, lying and protecting him, I am finally able to stand strong.”
Prosecutors unsuccessfully requested an arrest.
A sentencing hearing is scheduled for March 26.