Broken and hiding: Mama Hooch survivor shares her trauma

Ellie wears a mask.

It’s one she’s learnt to wear since she was drugged and sexually assaulted by Danny Jaz at Christchurch bar Mama Hooch in 2018.

Now that mask is bolted tightly, as details of the Jaz brothers’ depravity have been made public.

Ellie, whose real name is suppressed, fixes a smile and reminds herself there are worse things happening in the world. But the real Ellie feels alone and lost inside her head.

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For seven years, Christchurch was her home. After the trial finished in May, she moved to another city to be near family and doesn’t know if she’ll ever move back.

“When I’m by myself I break down, but when I’m around my parents and we watch anything about it on the news I’m like a different person. I’m trying to hold it together… It’s just so hard.”

Then 22, Ellie had lived in Christchurch for two years when she was assaulted.

She liked socialising, but knew her limits and took them seriously.

Mama Hooch, which opened in 2015, was considered a trendy bar, with an industrialised feel that appealed to 18, 19 and 20-somethings.

Ellie had been to the bar several times before, served by a friendly man named Danny Jaz who occasionally offered her free drinks.

The family were well known in the city, and Jaz’s easy wit, charm and position as the bar manager put her at ease.

One night in June 2018, Ellie had two wines at another bar and some snacks before visiting Mama Hooch with a friend.

She had a netball game the next day, so wasn’t drinking much. She ordered and paid for one drink for herself and one for her friend before heading to the back of the venue. She got one more round, which was poured by Jaz and handed over with three free shots.

He followed it up with two free shots of Sambuca.

Ellie soon became dizzy and disorientated, and her vision was blurry. She knew it wasn’t the alcohol.

She tried to dance it off but felt worse and headed to the toilets. She had no control over her body and when Jaz came into her cubicle she couldn’t fight him off, she says.

Jaz pushed her up against the wall aggressively and sexually assaulted her.

“I remember saying ‘no, stop … what the hell is happening? Did that just happen to me?’”

Afterwards Jaz told her he was going to leave the toilets first, so they wouldn’t be seen together. He left Ellie inside, still completely disoriented and unsure of what happened.

“I just had to get out of there.”

She can’t recall getting home, but remembers how ill she was later that night and the next day. Vomiting and with a severe headache, she was shaken, confused and still lacking full control of her body. There was no way she could play netball.

But Ellie didn’t want to believe she had been sexually assaulted. She tried to block it out and initially resisted going to police because she didn’t think they would believe her.

A friend reported the assault though, and officers called to tell her she wasn’t alone – there were others.

Making a statement was difficult because Ellie finally had to admit out loud that Jaz had drugged and sexually assaulted her.

She also saw him and his friends at a bar when she was out with friends. He tried to give her a drink, and was seen sticking his finger in it by her friend who then told him to leave her alone.

A fight broke out between the male friends in Ellie and Jaz’s group, and Jaz grabbed Ellie around the neck she says. Both groups were kicked out of the bar and one of Jaz’s mates punched Ellie in the face, causing her to fall back and hit her head.

She had to be taken to hospital, and later fled Christchurch, terrified of seeing Jaz’s friends again.

Jaz’s friend was convicted of assault. He has made an application for name suppression, which The Press plans to challenge.

Her trauma was compounded when she read Jaz’s comments to Stuff in October 2018 after police confirmed they were investigating 10 complaints about alleged drink spiking at Mama Hooch.

“If we caught [those responsible], God help them,” Jaz said, before adding if he found out it was a staff member he’d “break their hands and hand them over to the police”.

After four years of denials, Jaz pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting Ellie two weeks into his trial in April this year.

“It made me feel stupid. Why did he have to drag it out for so long?”

Ellie still had to give evidence in court, and found the experience traumatising. Although Jaz was hidden by a screen, knowing he could watch her on a monitor made her feel ill.

At the conclusion of a two-month trial, Danny Jaz and his younger brother Roberto were each convicted of dozens of crimes, including rape, sexual violation, sexual assaults, and various druggings.

Danny Jaz, 40, a father of two, attacked 15 women, many of whom he followed into the toilets at Mama Hooch, where he forced himself upon them. Roberto, 38, sexually assaulted five women – filming one while he raped her at the family’s Italian restaurant, Venuti, where he worked as a chef.

The pair will be sentenced in August.

But the convictions give Ellie little solace.

These days she rarely visits hospitality venues. If she does, she watches who pours her drink obsessively and never accepts free drinks.

Healing is an ongoing process, aided by knowing her courage may have stopped other women from being assaulted.

Now she encourages any woman who has experienced something similar to report it.

“Definitely come forward… Even if it is hard to block out people’s opinions.”

Where to get help:

• Rape Crisis 0800 88 33 00, click link for local helplines.

• Victim Support 0800 842 846.

• Safetalk text 4334, phone 0800 044 334 webchat safetotalk.nz or email support@safetotalk.nz.

• The Harbour Online support and information for people affected by sexual abuse.

• Women’s Refuge 0800 733 843

• Male Survivors Aotearoa Helplines across NZ, click to find out more (males only).

• If you or someone else is in immediate danger, call 111.

If you or someone you know is in a dangerous situation, click the Shielded icon at the bottom of this website to contact Women’s Refuge in a safe and anonymous way without it being traced in your browser history. If you’re in our app, visit the mobile website here to access Shielded.