After years of manipulating his young employees before escalating to groping, an aide to ex-MP Craig Kelly faces a likely jail stint for his assaults on four female staff members.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Francesco "Frank" Zumbo pressured the workers into "kisses and cuddles", touching them inappropriately and exposing himself to one victim.
The 56-year-old was convicted at Sydney's Downing Centre Local Court on Friday for crimes that occurred at various locations across the city from 2014 to 2018.
Zumbo sat alone on one side of the courtroom while the victims and their supporters sat on the other as Magistrate Gareth Christofi delivered his judgment.
Responsible for recruiting staff for the then-federal Liberal MP's office, Zumbo met the four young women - all about 30 years his junior - through either his work at university or high school events.
Multiple complainants said the former aide would greet them with hugs and kisses in the office, conduct that escalated to him groping their breasts or touching their backsides.
Zumbo claimed it was part of his Italian heritage to greet people in this way.
One woman said her boss exposed his penis to her while they were on a park bench, while another said he touched her vagina while they were in his car by the roadside.
One victim, a devout Christian, said she was angry about Zumbo taking her first kiss away from her, telling a friend she felt "gross and used".
Mr Christofi found there was clear evidence Zumbo was sexually attracted to his staff, who were in their late teens or early 20s at the time.
Covertly recorded conversations showed him repeatedly saying he was in love with, attracted to and wanted to become intimate with the women.
These discussions were one-sided and Zumbo would not take no for an answer, questioning his staffers' loyalty and pulling them into lengthy rants if they rejected his attempts at intimacy, Mr Christofi said.
"An appropriate professional working relationship this was not," the magistrate said of Zumbo's conduct with one complainant.
"Given the grossly lopsided power dynamic, the relationship was abusive and manipulative."
Mr Christofi rejected the 56-year-old's explanations for his conduct - including that he told the women he loved them because of their political prospects - as lacking in credit and honesty.
Zumbo will be sentenced on March 26 for six counts of aggravated indecent assault and one count of indecent assault.
The magistrate acquitted him of two further charges of aggravated sexual touching relating to a fifth complainant, the woman who first went to police and sparked a criminal investigation.
Mr Christofi said he could not be satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that Zumbo's touching of the teenager's thigh and rubbing of her shoulder was sexual.
The 56-year-old remains on bail after the magistrate found it was likely but not inevitable the former aide would face full-time imprisonment for his crimes.
One of Zumbo's victims, who spoke on the condition of continued anonymity, told AAP a jail sentence would be nice but the guilty verdict was the most important thing.
"Today has been a day of relief for me because it's like this massive weight has been lifted," she said.
"I've been able to tell my truth.
"After so many years of having to cover up and lie and protect him, I've finally been able to stand strong."
1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)
National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028
Australian Associated Press
