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A Sydney bar owner who sent inappropriate text messages and made hundreds of unwanted phone calls to staff members has been banned from managing a licensed venue and faces criminal charges, amid a regulatory crackdown on sexual harassment in the hospitality industry.
Jake Samuel-Brennan, 39, the former owner and chef at OG’s Kitchen and Bar in Cronulla, was alleged to have sent dozens of unwanted text messages to staff members, including images of his genitalia, over two separate events in July and December last year.
The Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority [ILGA] disqualified him from holding a liquor licence or being involved in the management of licensed venues for five years after finding that he was not a fit and proper person to hold a position of responsibility in the liquor industry.
Police have charged him with five counts of stalking and intimidation and one count of using a carriage service to menace or offend. His bail conditions include not approaching the complainants, not entering the suburb of Cronulla and reporting daily to Springwood police station.
The prosecution comes as the NSW government has made it easier for ILGA to remove individuals from the industry or cancel or suspend venues notorious for inappropriate behaviour, following a Herald investigation into sleaze in the hospitality industry.
However, the complaint by NSW Police to ILGA pre-dated reforms that allow the authority to strip individuals of their Responsible Service of Alcohol certificates for harmful behaviours such as sexual assault, and thereby prevent them from being re-employed at a different venue.
OG’s Kitchen and Bar is no longer in business.
Liquor and Gaming NSW executive director Dimitri Agreres said the decision reinforced the expectation that hospitality venues were safe places to work. The recent legislative changes expanded the disciplinary grounds available to ILGA for sexual harassment and sexual violence, he said.
“People who hold positions of authority in licensed venues are expected to demonstrate integrity, professionalism and respect,” Agreres said.
ILGA found that Samuel-Brennan called one staff member 50 times and another staff member 23 times, none of which were answered, and sent more than 100 inappropriate messages to their phones over several hours between July 17-18 last year.
He deluged the same staff members again with more than 100 phone calls and dozens of inappropriate text messages between the hours of 4am and 9am on December 28, and asked one of them to come to his house.
On the same occasion, he called a third staff member 124 times and sent her 58 text messages, all of which were unanswered, and called a fourth staff member more than 20 times, asking her to send the first complainant to his house.
Later that day, three of the complainants reported his behaviour to Cronulla Police, and Samuel-Brennan was arrested and charged with stalking and harassment.
ILGA reported that Samuel-Brennan acknowledged his behaviour was harassing and made admissions. But he later submitted that he had never intended to threaten, harass or harm anyone, nor to make them feel uncomfortable or unsafe.
He told the authority that the period of imprisonment he had served in connection to the matter had led to “significant personal growth and meaningful changes” in his life. He was engaged in a wellbeing program and had taken steps to improve his stability and decision-making in future.
Samuel-Brennan also pointed to his 25 years in the industry and unblemished criminal record.
He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
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