A Newhall restaurant owner was sentenced Tuesday after being convicted of four counts of battery, including charges sexual in nature, against a former employee.

Sam Gardian, owner of Southern Smoke BBQ and Brewhouse, was sentenced to 90 days in jail and three years probation, and a three-year protection order was issued for the victim, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.

“It’s not about sex. Crimes like this are about power,” said Judge Robert J. Schuit with the Superior Court of Los Angeles County during the courtroom proceedings.

Gardian was convicted on all charges, including four misdemeanor counts: two of battery and two of sexual battery, according to D.A’s officials.

He was ordered to register for the rest of his life as a sex offender and complete 26 anger management classes, according to the Distisct Attorney’s Office.

The incidents happened at the Newhall restaurant owned by Gardian in 2016, said prosecutors.

Almost two years later, in front of a Santa Clarita jury, Deputy District Attorney Taylor Carr began to illustrate the incidents that led a then 21-year-old ex-employee of the restaurant to contact police about one of the owners, 48-year-old Gardian.

Prosecutors argued Gardian created a hostile work environment for his employees with little tolerance for mistakes. The victim said the restaurant owner would react to a simple mistake like an incorrect order by smacking her on the back of the head — leading to the first battery charge.

See Related: Newhall Restaurant Owner Found Guilty On All Charges In Sexual Battery Case

The second comes from a separate incident in which the defendant allegedly grabbed the woman’s tongue with his bare hand, shook it, and told her to stop running her mouth, according to the multiple testimonies.

Both sexual battery charges stem from the events of a single night, during which Gardian allegedly assaulted the woman in and around the barbecue restaurant.

“There was already a hostile work environment, but on April 24, 2016, it escalated. It escalated into danger and trauma for (the victim). It escalated into a situation where a … supervisor thought it was okay to shove his hand down the underwear of a 21-year-old employee,” said Carr, ending her opening testimony on Friday.

Defense Attorney David Diamond had previously stated and still maintains that “there was never any sexual battery,” and that “the alleged victim was written up on multiple occasions for misconduct at work.”

“An innocent man was convicted for something that he did not do,” Diamond said. “A well-derived plot to make money and conjure up allegations trumped the true facts.”

Gardian is set to return to court on April 9 for a progress report in front of a judge, according to the D.A’s Office.

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