Source: Radio New Zealand
The Mama Hooch trial, Danny Jaz, left, Roberto Jaz appear in the Christchurch District Court charged with sexual violation 07 February 2023. Supplied / POOL
Warning: This story deals with sexual violence.
Lengthy prison sentences for two of Christchurch’s most prolific sex offenders have been upheld by a High Court judge.
Danny and Roberto Jaz were convicted in 2023 of 69 charges, including sexual assault, rape, stupefaction, disabling, sexual violation and indecent assault.
The case garnered international attention after details emerged showing how the brothers had systematically targeted young women at their family businesses over several years.
Many of their 23 victims were staff or patrons of Mama Hooch bar on Colombo Street, or nearby restaurant Venuti.
The brothers were each sentenced to more than 16 years in jail, with non-parole periods of half their sentences.
At sentencing, Judge Paul Mabey told the men the level of their offending was unprecedented in New Zealand.
“You helped yourself to young women with callous disregard for their rights and their dignity, their youth,” Judge Mabey said.
The pair appealed the convictions, claiming Judge Mabey was biased, made errors assessing evidence and breached their fair trial rights by refusing to allow closing submissions.
Danny Jaz also appealed his sentence on the basis he did not receive sufficient credit for pleading guilty.
At appeal, the brothers’ lawyer Ron Mansfield KC told the court his clients did not get a fair hearing, which had led to a significant miscarriage of justice.
All appeals, except for three charges against Roberto Jaz for making an intimate visual recording, failed.
In his decision, which was reserved until Monday, Justice Cameron Mander dismissed the sentence appeal as without merit.
Despite the guilty plea, Danny Jaz showed “no remorse or acceptance of the harm he caused his victims”, he said.
Thirteen of the 14 complainants associated with those charges were still required to attend court and give evidence about “distressing matters” because Jaz continued to deny other related charges of drugging and disabling those same women, he noted.
The Jaz family ran Mama Hooch, pictured, and nearby Venuti on Colombo St. Mama Hooch’s premises has since been taken over by new owners and given a new name. David Walker / Stuff
Justice Mander also dismissed both brothers’ appeal of their conviction, with the exception of three “lesser” charges against Roberto Jaz of making an intimate visual recording, which were quashed.
However, his sentence – 17 years’ imprisonment, with a minimum period of eight years and six months – remained unchanged.
The total starting points for Roberto’s original sentences aggregated to 41 years, and the judge had already significantly reduced that to 17 years, Justice Mander said.
“When viewed overall, I do not consider the final 17-year sentence is required to be adjusted.”
Justice Mander described the trial judge’s decision to skip closing arguments as “unadvised” and demonstrating a “lack of procedural prudence”, noting that the judge appeared to have become distracted by the need to prioritise the start of a second trial.
However, “an appellant must be able to demonstrate that, as a consequence of the error or irregularity, their trial was unfair”, he said.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
