THE owner of a Cooranbong service station accused of sexually touching two women over two days in October claims the allegations have led to his business being "shunned".
Michel Estephan, 62, on Tuesday appeared in Toronto Local Court where he failed in his bid to have his name suppressed because he says the publicity of the charges against him have led to a decline in business so dramatic that the service station is no longer profitable.
Mr Estephan pleaded not guilty to five counts of sexually touch another person without consent and the matter was adjourned until March. The 62-year-old was arrested at Cooranbong in October after two women claimed he had sexually touched them.
Mr Estephan applied to have his name and details of the case suppressed on Tuesday, but Magistrate Peter Barnett, SC, refused the application. "With respect the bird has flown," Mr Barnett said. "If the community has decided the service station should be shunned because of the allegations then further publication is not going to make any difference."
