Ex-deputy provost accused of sex attack on waiter

THE former deputy provost of Aberdeen has gone on trial accused of sexually assaulting a waiter at a private function.

Prosecutors claim Councillor James Alan Donnelly, 64, cornered the young man ‘on various occasions’ while he worked at a venue in Aberdeen.

The waiter, who cannot be named for legal reasons, claims he was left ‘mentally disturbed’ and had to quit his studies after the alleged sexual assault.

Court papers state that Donnelly, who represents the city’s Torry and Ferryhill areas, ‘repeatedly touched’ the waiter’s face, hair and body as well as kissing him on the face on November 3 last year.

Donnelly, of Aberdeen, denies the charge against him and went on summary trial at Aberdeen Sheriff Court yesterday.

The alleged victim gave evidence from behind a screen to hide his identity. He told the court he worked on an ‘ad-hoc’ basis at the function hall in Aberdeen between September 2016 and Christmas 2018.

The man told the court that Donnelly touched ‘his hair and beard’ and that he was ‘uncomfortably close’ to him but he managed to walk away and told colleagues about the encounter in a kitchen before returning to clear more tables.

Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard that Donnelly approached the man again around five to ten minutes later. The man said: ‘He gave me his card. When he was giving the card to me he took advantage by getting a little closer to me and then he kissed me on both cheeks.’

The court heard that the waiter, who was studying at university at the time, felt ‘sick’ after the alleged attack.

Two months after the incident is said to have happened, the man reported it to the police.

He said: ‘I was mentally disturbed. I wasn’t able to focus on my studies. I’m on anxiety pills. I get really uncomfortable if anyone is close to me.’

The trial will continue later this year.

‘Mentally disturbed’