A former employee of ex-federal MP Craig Kelly didn't speak up about his chief of staff Frank Zumbo indecently touching her because she feared he would isolate her from other staff.
Continuing her evidence in the Downing Centre Local Court on Tuesday, the young woman said that Zumbo, 55, had done this on multiple occasions in his car while giving her a lift home and in Kelly's office in Sutherland.
"He would put his hand on my thigh and rub his hand down my thigh and against my vagina. He would rub his hand up and down on the outside of my pants," she told the court via video link.
"I was very uncomfortable."
While she couldn't recall making a direct complaint to her then boss, the woman said she had changed what she wore to the office because of this alleged touching, opting to come in wearing jeans most of the time.
"I wore skirts a couple of times to work but I very quickly realised that was a mistake," she said.
At a wedding, she asked a friend if such behaviour was appropriate.
"She told me, 'No, that's not appropriate at all'."
The Maroubra man is facing 20 charges over conduct alleged by five different women, including sexual touching, indecent assault and common assault between 2014 and 2020.
He has pleaded not guilty to all charges and argues he tried to create a collegial work environment but no sexual activity ever occurred.
The woman who gave evidence on Tuesday cannot be legally named but was selected by Zumbo and Mr Kelly for work experience while she was still in high school. She then took up a part-time job as a teenager at the politician's office while she studied at university.
She has accused Zumbo of squeezing her breast until it hurt as he kissed and hugged her goodbye each day after work, and also for kissing her on the lips.
Seeing her boss as a mentor and adviser who helped with her university work, she said he often asked if she loved and cared about him.
He allegedly said the hugs and kisses showed "loyalty" to him and were a sign of friendship between himself and the woman he referred to as the "sisters" working in the office.
She did not complain about his conduct, saying she feared his retribution if she spoke up.
"There would be consequences for me saying, 'Please don't do that' or 'I don't like that', such as exclusion from chatting to the girls at work, like isolation," she said.
A secretly recorded conversation was played to the court between Zumbo and four angry female staff members who had discovered their boss had created fake social media accounts to follow people they knew so he could monitor their activities online.
"Can I just say, you've all lied to me and I've lied to you," he is heard saying.
The hearing in front of magistrate Gareth Christofi continues.
