An aide who managed the electoral office of ex-MP Craig Kelly has been convicted of indecently assaulting four female staff members in their late teens and early 20s.
Francesco Zumbo manipulated his young employees, pressuring them 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 2014-2018.
Multiple complainants say the former aide would greet them with hugs and kisses in the office, conduct that escalated to him groping their breasts or touching their bottoms.
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 pulled over in his car by the roadside.
Covertly recorded conversations showed the officer manager repeatedly saying he was in love with, attracted to and wanted to become intimate with the women, the magistrate said.
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.