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 the head chef at SK Steak and Oyster, at the luxury hotel in Fortitude Valley, 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, where three witnesses, including the complainant, gave evidence.
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 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.
Police alleged the woman was raped by Andrews in that room. The prosecution told the court a DNA sample was taken from the defendant to compare with the complainant’s medical examination at hospital, but because of “the delays in relation to DNA, no statement has been received”. Magistrate Jacqui Payne ruled there was not enough evidence for the case to proceed to trial.
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