Top chef guilty of stalking
JAIL LOOMS: Burglary, property damage, fake accounts, explicit photos
A TOP Geelong chef is facing jail time after waging a campaign of terror on his former partner.
Michael Kawana was jealous and bitter about the end of a relationship when he stalked and harassed his ex through social media and at her home.
The Highton man's offending lasted several months and included breaking into the woman’s home while she was at work and cutting up 75 items of clothing.
He also set up a range of fake social media accounts and sent explicit images of his genitalia to the victim and her sister, while pretending to be someone else.
Kawana pleaded guilty in Geelong Magistrates’ Court yesterday to a range of charges including stalking, burglary, using a carriage service to harass and breaching bail.
The 46-year-old is the head chef at Fishermen’s Pier restaurant on Geelong’s Waterfront, and the court heard Kawana was likely to lose his job if he was jailed.
His offending started even before his relationship with the victim came to an end in January 2017.
The court was told that during and after the relationship, Kawana set up fake social media accounts and tried to contact the woman.
He later told police he was checking to see if the victim would cheat on him before he considered marrying her.
The offending escalated after the breakup, with Kawana loitering around the victim’s home and excessively calling her in the months that followed.
In June last year, he sent images of a penis to the woman while pretending to be a “James” and that he had contacted the wrong number.
Two months later, Kawana stalked the victim while she went on a dinner date, texting her to ask how the date was and commenting on the outfit she was wearing.
He was eventually arrested and charged on October 31, with phone location data revealing he had been to the victim’s home 63 times in the previous seven weeks.
Despite the victim moving suburbs and Kawana being on bail, the chef continued driving past her new home and messaging her on fake social media accounts.
The woman read a victim impact statement to the court yesterday, detailing how the incidents had left her fearful for her family’s safety.
“I thought I knew you but I didn’t see the double life you lived,” she said.
“This experience will scar me for the rest of my life and never go away.”
Defence lawyer Stephanie Mawby said Kawana was in a “dark place” at the time of his crimes, but that a 19-day stint in custody had served as a wake-up call.
However, magistrate Michael Coghlan said more time in jail was a strong possibility when Kawana returned to court on Tuesday.
“These charges are too serious,” he said.
“This was clearly a calculated and ongoing attempt by you without any regard to the impact on the victim.
“You were clearly fuelled by some obsession and jealousy.”
Kawana’s bail was extended until Tuesday’s sentencing.
Phone location data revealed he had been to the victim’s home 63 times in seven weeks