Mama Hooch rapist assaulted in prison

News
Crime

Author: Anna Leask,
Publish Date: Mon, 29 May 2023, 2:24pm

Mama Hooch rapist Roberto Jaz has been assaulted by other inmates at Christchurch Men’s Prison.

The assault was outed when staff intervened to break up a later fight in a day room.

Roberto Jaz, 38, and his brother Danny Jaz, 40, were named publicly - for the first time since their arrests in 2017 - as the prolific sexual predators responsible for a raft of offending against women at central Christchurch bar Mama Hooch.

The siblings are facing up to 20 years each in prison after being found guilty of a total of 69 charges including rape, sexual violation, indecent assault, stupefying, disabling, making intimate recordings of women without their knowledge or consent and supplying illicit drugs.

While initially granted bail, after they were convicted following their Judge-alone trial in the Christchurch District Court both men were remanded in custody to await sentencing.

Until last week their names could not be published due to strict suppression orders. Those orders were lifted on Wednesday.

Acting prison director Garron Star confirmed details of the assault on Monday.

He said staff responded to two prisoners fighting in a day room and “de-escalated the situation”.

“Staff reviewed CCTV footage and identified one of the prisoners had been assaulted an hour earlier in an exercise yard by two prisoners, including the person involved in the day room incident,” he said.

“None of the prisoners involved required medical attention.

“The perpetrators will be charged with misconduct.”

Star said police would be advised and would determine whether any criminal charges are laid.

“We have a zero tolerance for violence policy, and any violence or assaults against other prisoners or staff is not tolerated in prisons,” said Star.

“Any prisoner using such behaviour will be held to account for their actions.”

Roberto Jaz’s lawyer Trudi Aickin would not comment on the matter when contacted.

He and Danny Jaz will be sentenced across two days in August, to allow time for any of the more than 20 victims to read impact statements to the court.

A source said Roberto may have been working in the prison kitchen given his experience as a chef before he was arrested for years of sexual offending against young patrons of his family bar.

The alleged offenders are said to have gang connections and “bashed Roberto for the rape”.

The source had heard both Jaz brothers were now in protective custody and may remain there for the duration of their time in prison because “they are very, very unpopular”.

Danny Jaz was the bar manager at Mama Hooch and Roberto Jaz was the chef at the nearby restaurant Venuti.

The court heard the men were “fixated with sex” and used the family-owned venues as hunting grounds to find young women.

They were “indifferent to consent” and used drugs to spike the drinks of women - stupefying and disabling them so they could effectively do whatever they liked to them.

“When they were unable to establish consensual relations with females - notwithstanding the fact that they were all in long-standing relationships with their respective partners - they turn to means by which such sexual contact could be facilitated, and typically, that meant drugs,” Crown Prosecutor Andrew McRae said.

Rapist brothers Danny (centre) and Roberto (right) Jaz at the bar Mama Hooch where they drink spiked and sexually assaulted women. Photo / Facebook

“There were occasions where females rejected unwanted sexual advances from the defendants after being given free drugs and or alcohol. These females were significantly younger than the defendants and were not sexually interested

“Further, [the men worked to] facilitate the administration of the alcoholic drinks, events with stupefying substance. It’s alleged that this was to encourage the atmosphere … to lower the resistance to the advances.”

But on July 16, 2018, two brave women - one who had turned 18 just days earlier - went to police.

If not for the brave young victims who disclosed their harrowing ordeal to police and then in a courtroom full of strangers, the Jaz brothers may have continued to offend against more women.

Both Mama Hooch and Venuti have gone out of business since the Jaz brothers were arrested.

Two other men were charged in connection with the prolific drink spiking and sexual assaults - both currently have name suppression.

One man was charged with rape, sexual violation, indecent assault, stupefying, disabling and offering to supply a Class B drug.

He was acquitted on all but the last charge and will be sentenced in July.

He will seek a discharge without conviction and permanent name suppression.

Danny Jaz behind the bar at Mama Hooch with former Prime Minister Sir John Key and staff. Photo / Facebook

The other was acquitted at a separate trial on one charge of sexual violation.

Judge Paul Mabey said the complaint in that matter impressed him as “a truthful woman” - however elements of the evidence left him with reasonable doubt and as such he could not convict the man.

“(The complainant) is adamant but there are many gaps in her memory... It was put to her in cross-examination that she may have wrongly reconstructed matters and remembered things that did not happen,” he said.

“I consider that to be a distinct possibility that I cannot exclude... As a result of the defence case I am left in a reasonable doubt about whether or not the act of violation occurred and entertaining that reasonable doubt I find you not guilty of the charge.”

Judge Mabey blasted the man for his involvement in the wider Mama Hooch culture.

He said some of his messaging with the Jaz brothers and other “can be interpreted as (the man) having knowledge of just what was going on at Mama Hooch.

“The Jaz brothers have been convicted of disabling or stupefying females and of sexual violation or indecent assault of some of those females. Mr McRae would urge me to interpret some of the communications as imputing knowledge to (the man) that there were drugs available at Mama Hooch and that Danny Jaz in particular had them and that they had a certain effect.

“I do accept Mr McRae’s submission that aspects of the communications do show a knowledge of drug use at Mama Hooch.... (the man) is no innocent participant in these discussions, blind to the fact that drugs are not only available at Mama Hooch, they are used there and Mr Danny Jaz knows where to get them.

SEXUAL HARM - DO YOU NEED HELP?

Where to get help:

If it’s an emergency and you feel that you or someone else is at risk, call 111.

If you’ve ever experienced sexual assault or abuse and need to talk to someone, contact Safe to Talk confidentially, any time 24/7: