Former Kmart manager charged over alleged offences against four teenagers
A former Kmart manager has been charged with 24 offences, including acts of indecency and child abuse material offences, allegedly committed against four teenage female employees whilst they worked under his supervision. The charges relate to conduct spanning from 2016 to 2020, with prosecutors flagging the trial could take several weeks due to the complexity of the Crown's case involving 17 witnesses.
Scott Ian Whittaker, 44, was the duty manager at Kmart's Belconnen store in the Australian Capital Territory between 2016 and 2018, and subsequently worked at other retail stores in the area. The charges include seven counts of indecency against persons aged 10 to 16, plus counts of using the internet to deprave a young person, common assault, supplying liquor to a child, and making threats to kill. In 2021, Whittaker pleaded guilty to separate sex offences against a 15-year-old girl whom he groomed via social media after she began working at Kmart when aged 14, including raping her and coercing her into creating child abuse material.
- Former Kmart manager charged with 24 offences against four teenage employees
- Previously convicted in 2021 of rape and child abuse material offences
- Trial expected to last weeks with 17 civilian witnesses
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Scott Whittaker, aged 44, worked as a duty manager at a Kmart store in Belconnen, Canberra, between 2016 and 2018. He has now been charged with 24 offences relating to conduct allegedly committed whilst holding this supervisory position.
The charges involve four teenage female employees who worked under his supervision, with the alleged offences spanning from 2016 to 2020. They include various counts of indecency, child abuse material offences, assault and threats.
This is not Whittaker's first involvement with authorities on such matters. In 2021, he pleaded guilty to separate sex offences against a 15-year-old girl whom he met when she began working at Kmart, and whom he subsequently groomed, raped and coerced into creating child abuse material.
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Originally published by Daily Mail as “Kmart manager charged with dozens of vile sexual offences against four teen employees”.