The case against a prominent Brisbane chef accused of raping a woman in the Calile Hotel has been dropped after a magistrate ruled there was not enough evidence for it to proceed to trial. Kelvin Zachary Andrews, who was formerly head chef at SK Steak and Oyster in the luxury Fortitude Valley hotel, was accused of one count of rape last year. Andrews sat quietly in the public gallery of the Brisbane Magistrates Court on Tuesday for his committal hearing, during which three witnesses, including the complainant, gave evidence.
His defence barrister, Angus Edwards, told the court the pair had consensual sex in the Sushi Room, another restaurant in the Calile, on the night of March 12, 2023. The prosecution’s case rested on what happened after that, when the court heard Andrews and another woman brought the complainant to a hotel room in the Calile because she was heavily intoxicated. Kelvin Zachary Andrews leaves the Brisbane Magistrates Court after a magistrate ruled there was not enough evidence for his case to proceed to trial.
Credit: Cloe Read The woman had made the reservation for the room and Andrews paid for it with his credit card, the court heard. They both left the complainant in the room before she began texting Andrews, asking him to come to the room. He later texted that he was coming up, and spent about nine minutes in the room.
Police alleged Andrews raped the woman in that room, and she did not consent. The prosecution said CCTV footage of the Sushi Room was o.