Police interviews with Roberto Jaz, who was found guilty of 69 charges related to the drugging and sexual assault of more than 20 women.
Video / NZ Police
WARNING: Distressing content.
The judge who convicted Mama Hooch rapists Danny and Roberto Jaz said the brothers had an “arrogant, entitled and hubristic approach” to young women who came within their orbit and were “indifferent to their rights and indifferent to consent”.
After a judge-alone trial this year, the men were convicted of 69 charges between them including rape, sexual violation, indecent assault, stupefying, disabling, making intimate recordings of women without their knowledge or consent and supplying illicit drugs.
The drugging and assaults took place at Mama Hooch and Venuti - a bar and restaurant owned by their father Michael Jaz, between 2015 and 2018.
Danny Jaz, 40, was a duty bar manager at Mama Hooch and Roberto Jaz, 38, was the chef at Venuti.
Two other men were charged alongside the Jaz brothers. One was acquitted on all sex and drug charges except one of offering to supply a Class B drug. He was discharged without conviction. The other was acquitted on a single sexual assault charge.
Judge Mabey delivered his verdicts in April for the Jaz brothers’ plethora of offences.
Yesterday his 162-page judgment with the reason for each verdict was released.
In it, Judge Mabey lambasts the predatory pair, saying they had a consistent and established propensity to “show a sexual interest in, and to target for sexual purposes, patrons and staff of Mama Hooch”.
They “formed a common purpose” to stupefy their victims with the intention to “induce… a receptiveness to engaging in sexual activity which the brothers knew would not otherwise be engaged in”.
The men used their positions at the bar and restaurant “to drug females to facilitate sexual offending”.
Judge Mabey said the brothers both individually and together had a firmly established tendency” to stupefy patrons and staff and on some occasions did so to enable “sexual exploitation”.
Danny Jaz behind the bar at his family bar Mama Hooch. Photo / Facebook
At trial, messages from a group chat revealed the brothers frequently discussed women’s bodies in graphic detail along with lewd accounts of their sexual conquests and desires.
They - and others - joked about rape and drugging women with “roofies”.
“The hard and inescapable reality is that the targeting of staff and patrons for sexual purposes, the treatment of staff and patrons as sexual objects... the drugging of those that were sexually offended against... is far from a joke,” said Judge Mabey.
“All of those matters are indicative of an arrogant, entitled and hubristic approach to young women that came within the orbit of the Jaz brothers in the conduct and of their business at Mama Hooch and Venuti, and who were seen as fair game indifferent to their rights and indifferent to consent,” the judge said.
He highlighted one conversation in particular where Roberto Jaz mentioned rape.
“I do not consider the reference to ‘rape’ to be a flippant joke,” he said.
Further, he said Roberto Jaz using the word was “indicative of a mindset of arrogance and entitlement”.
Judge Mabey said while Danny Jaz was not physically involved in the rape, he was as guilty as his brother.
He said Roberto Jaz provided the victim with the drink that “contained an unknown stupefying substance” at Mama Hooch and soon after Danny Jaz led the woman to Venuti.
There Roberto Jaz raped her. A third man was also charged in relation to the assault but was acquitted.
After the assault Danny Jaz “collected” the victim from Venuti and “took her away”.
“[She] did not take the drugs voluntarily with the awareness that it was likely to lead to sexual activity with Roberto Jaz or others,” Judge Mabey said.
“Danny Jaz agreed to help his brother to achieve their goal and did so by delivering [the victim] to Venuti where his brother was waiting.
“Her perception that was by arrangement is correct.
“It is for that reason that the Jaz brothers were convicted of [rape].”
Roberto Jaz during his police interview where he lied about sexually assaulting two women. Photo / NZ Police
Judge Mabey said there was “no satisfactory proof” that the third man was “part of the common purpose or participated in the stupefaction of” the woman.
“Proof beyond reasonable doubt is required,” he explained.
“Nothing less is sufficient in a criminal court. Suspicion or probability are never enough. The plain reality is that the evidence fell well short.
“To convict him would require speculation about the facts and/or prejudice resulting in guilt by association. No finder of fact, be it judge or jury, can ever reason in that way.”
Judge Mabey said the evidence and convictions showed Roberto Jaz “takes females to Venuti, offers them drugs and sexually offends against them”.
Further, he had “a sexual interest in, and engages in sexual activity with, females without consent” and and he was “indifferent to consent”
He said Danny Jaz was equally indifferent and in his ruling outlined a number examples where he drugged women then “positioned himself in a way that enabled him to take the complainant into a toilet cubicle and commit a sexual assault”.
“He not only administered the drink for that purpose, he monitored her until such time as she and her friend had moved sufficiently forward in the queue to be entering the toilet when he went in with them and closed the door,” said Judge Mabey. “I consider this is an occasion similar to [another victim’s experience]. Danny Jaz has targeted [her] and has ensured that he ended up in the toilet with her. He sexually violated her.”
Judge Mabey also referred to Roberto Jaz’s police interview during which he suggested he could not remember sexually assaulting two women because someone had had spiked his drink.
“The suggestion that his drink may have been spiked is in my view a desperate attempt to explain a fabricated claim to a lack of memory of matters,” said the judge.
Roberto and Danny Jaz are brothers and convicted rapists. Photo / Facebook
“It shows not only a knowledge that drinks can be spiked, and that memory can be lost as a result, but is a subliminal and subconscious acknowledgement of what the evidence in this case establishes as to his own behaviour in spiking drinks to facilitate sexual offending.”
A letter Roberto Jaz wrote to his father as an “apology”, was dismissed by Judge Mabey as “disingenuous, self-serving and deliberately false”.
This is the letter in full - edited only to correct the extensive spelling errors and to remove the specific address of the family home.
Dear Michael Mendo Jaz (Dad),
I am writing you this letter of apology for my actions that occurred in the early hours of the 15th of July 2018 at your establishment Venuti Restaurant (Jaz Holdings Limited).
I am truly and sincerely sorry for taking a female to Venuti to use the bathroom.
Whilst there I offered her a drink which I didn’t think much into at the time, after a couple of drinks we began talking and she told me she liked me, one thing lead to another which resulted in some consensual sexual activity between us.
My intentions were not to do this at all, it was a spur-of-the-moment thing.
I know that I should not have utilised the venue for this kind of activity however this particular female had been previously flirting with me that particular evening, also weeks prior to this event occurring (still doesn’t excuse this kind of activity).
Knowing that I was going through a break-up with my partner at the time, (trying to patch things up with the ex but the spark was lost) I had the impression with her flirtatious behaviour and a mix of some alcohol (also now knowing she has admitted taking drugs that evening) I still felt this was consensual as it was initiated by her.
I know that this has put stress on you and the family. I am truly sorry for the repercussions this has caused as a result I am aware that my position at your establishment is terminated.
I am truly saddened by this result but I agree with the decision you have made. I know I will never receive a position as good anywhere, but I acted alone and did not think of the consequences at the time nor did I think it was going to result to this as it was some consensual fun.
As a result of my job being terminated I can no longer afford to pay you monthly for the repayments on the family house, therefore I would like you to please remove my name from the title.
Until I get my feet back on the ground I may need some help financially and I will repay you as soon as I can.
Once again I am truly sorry for this and I hope you can forgive me.
Kind regards
Roberto Jaz (your son)
Judge Mabey said Roberto Jaz appeared to “justify” a “spontaneous sexual engagement with a flirtatious woman” by the fact that he and his partner are having a break - but then appears also to place blame on the female.
“The content of the letter compounds my clear impression that Roberto Jaz lied to the police officer and is lying to his father.
“He uses Venuti as a venue for sexual contact, both consensual and non-consensual. He uses Venuti as a place to drug females and offend against them without their consent or any possible reasonable belief in consent.
“The apology to his father is disingenuous in the extreme and gives an insight into Roberto Jaz’s character and motivations.... (of) his willingness to exploit females as playthings who exist for his benefit and whose rights for which he has complete disregard.
“Not to be outdone, Danny Jaz shows the same mendacity when speaking to journalists about police publicity concerning complaints of drink spiking at Mama Hooch.
“He said ‘If we caught those responsible, God help them, I’d break their hands and hand them over to the police’. At this point his brother had been charged and he had himself drugged and sexually offended against multiple victims.”
Judge Mabey will sentence the Jaz brothers next month.
Two days have been set aside for the hearing to allow time for any victims who want to read impact statements in court.
