A man who owned a charity cafe and sexually assaulted a 14-year-old boy has been sentenced to eight years behind bars. Andrew Mackenzie, aged 55 and from Cardiff, was found guilty of four counts of sexual activity with the minor on two separate occasions in May 2021.
The boy read out a personal victim statement in court in which he spoke about how he had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of the attacks. He also spoke about his night terrors, how his relationship with his family had suffered, and how he had used cannabis.
The assaults happened in a cabin at the back of the coffee shop, which Mackenzie ran to support Poor and Hungry, a community interest company that he’d set up to help young people in need and offer meals to vulnerable people. Mackenzie had asserted that he had found God after a lifetime of crime that included long prison terms for drug supply and fraud.
The judge, Shoman Khan, told Mackenzie that he had no regard for those with whom he had sex; he only cared about himself. Mackenzie continued to protest that he was innocent but did mouth an apology to the boy’s family as he was escorted from the courtroom after his sentencing. Mackenzie has been put on a sexual harm prevention order for life and is prohibited from electronically communicating with anyone under the age of 18
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