Restaurateur admits assaulting servers

KITCHENER — The Crown is seeking a jail sentence for the owner/manager of an Ayr restaurant who assaulted three servers on the job in 2016.

Criss Voulcaridis, 31, of Kitchener, pleaded guilty to three assault charges on Tuesday and will be sentenced Dec. 14.

The women worked at his Papa Joe’s Hot Kettle restaurant on Cedar Creek Road. Crown prosecutor Anita Etheridge described Voulcaridis’s actions as “unwanted touching.”

One server said he would frequently “poke and flick her and make inappropriate comments about her to other employees,” Etheridge said. Another said he pinched and poked her on the arms and side. A third server said he often flicked her arm or elbow.

Two complainants, both in tears, delivered victim impact statements. One said she quit her job at Papa Joe’s Hot Kettle with no backup plan and lost her house. She said she no longer trusts people.

Another woman said Voulcaridis ruined her life. She said his actions “removed all happiness.” She said she lives in constant fear and no longer trusts male bosses or co-workers.

“This is a breach-of-trust situation,” Etheridge said, calling for a jail sentence to be served on weekends.

Defence lawyer Stephanie Krug is seeking a conditional discharge.

Krug noted the three women went to the police station together and have launched a civil lawsuit.

She referred to texts between the women and Voulcaridis that suggest “an agenda” before they went to police.

“They were not fearful of him,” Krug said. “In one case, one of the women asked him for a ride, in another case (a woman wrote), ‘Meet me outside.’”

Krug asked: “To what degree must the court factor in the input of victims and to what degree must that be balanced against the actual offence? We can’t lose sight that this is minor touching.”

Etheridge replied: “We also can’t lose sight of the fact that he’s the employer, he owns the restaurant. They’re dependent on him for their financial future.”

Justice Colin Westman agreed it was a breach of trust, but said Voulcaridis’s actions probably weren’t nefarious but likely stemmed from “ignorance.”

“But that doesn’t make it OK,” Etheridge said. “There’s a power imbalance.”

Krug’s mention of the civil suit and the fact the women went to the police station together is “an attempt to make them look bad,” Etheridge said.

“He has pled guilty and he has accepted the facts as they are before the court, acknowledging criminal wrongdoing. And now to try to shift the blame … is unfair.”

Krug said what Voulcaridis did was “very common behaviour. It’s very minor touching.”

The judge said Voulcaridis caused “very deep hurt” to the women, but noted people react differently to events. He said some women would have smacked Voulcaridis in the face.

Etheridge said it’s wrong to wonder whether other women would have reacted to the unwanted touching in a different way.

“We’re not here to discuss other people. We’re here to discuss what this accused person did to these complainants and how this affected them personally.”

A note online says Papa Joe’s Hot Kettle is permanently closed.