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A Wellington West chocolatier who once prided himself on treating customers as guests in his home has been found guilty of sexually assaulting a teen employee.

Omar Fares was found guilty Thursday in a judge-alone sexual assault trial.

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The allegations against the then-36-year-old owner and operator of A Thing for Chocolate on Wellington Street West were made by a high school employee who was 17 at the time. The girl had been an employee at the café for just four days.

The teen said Fares held her tightly after what started as a consensual hug inside the café. He then kissed her neck repeatedly without her consent.

Fares denied holding or kissing the girl.

The victim is now 19 and in university.

In the days before the Mar. 20, 2016 assault, she had been looking for a job and handing out résumés when she happened upon Fares’s café.

Fares began focusing on her clothing and said he was sexually attracted to her. The girl phoned police after the unwanted kissing when the sexual comments didn’t stop and she felt increasingly unsafe.