Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Court told Aberdeen councillor kissed man’s face in alleged sexual assault

Aberdeen City Council HQ
Aberdeen City Council HQ

Former Aberdeen depute provost Alan Donnelly has gone on trial accused of sexually assaulting a man working at a function.

Alan Donnelly, 65, appeared in the dock yesterday following allegations he inappropriately touched and kissed a man at an event in November last year.

His alleged victim, who gave evidence at the city’s sheriff court from behind a screen, said the incident had left him “mentally disturbed”.

The man claims the councillor, who denies the charge, made unwanted advances towards him on two occasions while he was working at the event.

The witness told the court: “He said to me ‘you’re too good-looking to be working here’.”

 

The man told fiscal depute Lynne Macvicor that Donnelly, who at the time was depute lord provost, complimented the man’s “nice hair” before running his fingers through it and touching his beard.

The man said he returned to the kitchen carrying plates and cutlery, before continuing working.

He told the court that Donnelly then approached him for a second time, saying “Oh, it’s you again” and standing “really close”.

Ms Macvicor asked the man: “How close is ‘really close’?”

The man replied: “To the point I stepped back and dropped some cutlery.”

It is alleged Donnelly then touched the man’s hand and face before kissing him on either cheek.

The court was then shown a business card the councillor allegedly handed the man at this time.

The witness said: “He asked me to contact him on his personal number.

“While he was giving the card to me, he used that to his own advantage by getting closer to my face and kissing me on both cheeks.”

The man said he had thoughts “rushing” through his head and felt “really sick” after the alleged incident.

 


>> Keep up to date with the latest news with The P&J newsletter


Donnelly’s solicitor David Sutherland suggested that the man had not been working on the night in question and had instead had contact with the councillor at an event the following week.

He also argued that the man’s claims had been fabricated.

Both were denied by the witness.

He also told Mr Sutherland that he did not accept Donnelly’s card willingly and was worried that speaking out could cause him to lose his job.

“I was in a situation I wanted to get away from,” he said.

“I didn’t approach the card, he put it into my hand.”

Due to a lack of an interpreter needed for an upcoming witness, the trial was adjourned until a later date.

Donnelly, of Deemount Gardens in Aberdeen, will appear before Sheriff Andrew Miller again in late October.