A Magic Mike-style stripper who ‘jiggled the breasts’ of a bride-to-be during her hen party has been found guilty of sexual assault.
The 32-year-old victim said she was ‘shocked’ and ‘froze’ when Stuart Kennedy – dressed as a firefighter – burst into the party at Crieff Hydro, a four-star hotel resort in Perthshire, Scotland.
The woman, who works as a solicitor, said she repeatedly said ‘no thank you’ to Kennedy – which he confirmed – but that he carried on despite her clearly being uncomfortable.
Kennedy was found guilty of two charges at Perth Sheriff Court and was placed on the Sex Offenders Register.
He was also warned that he could face being sent to prison after the court was told he had a previous similar conviction.
Sheriff Paul Reid said: ‘I am satisfied he did touch her breasts. Her evidence was clear and corroborated.
‘Witnesses spoke to being taken aback by what happened. There was the complainer’s evidence of immediate distress that brought the whole show to an end.
‘I do not accept he could have had reasonable belief he had consent. It was clear she was deeply uncomfortable with the performance.
Stuart Kennedy (pictured) was found guilty of two charges at Perth Sheriff Court and was placed on the Sex Offenders Register
Kennedy was also warned that he could face being sent to prison after the court was told he had a previous similar conviction
‘Nothing could have given him the impression she consented to being touched in that manner. His activity towards the complainer from when she sat in the chair in the middle of the room was plainly sexual.
‘She did not give her free agreement to what happened, simulated oral sex, being made to drink out of a penis-shaped straw, or touching his fake penis.
‘I am not satisfied he took any reasonable steps to ascertain consent was continuing throughout his performance.’
The sheriff added: ‘It is a narrow decision. On the facts of this case he did not have consent for what he did. If she consented, or he had reasonable belief that she did, no crime would have been committed.
‘The onus is on the person in Mr Kennedy’s position to check they have consent for what they are doing. He did not do what was required of him by law.’
He deferred sentence for reports and continued Kennedy’s bail. He rejected a Crown motion to ban Kennedy from working as a stripper as an additional bail condition.
Kennedy told the trial his stripping firefighter act was ‘a beautiful gift’ and that he had performed more than 4,000 shows over 19 years as a ‘professional entertainer.’
He said: ‘I see my work as a craft. It’s a premium service. I do it to the absolute best of my ability. No-one’s ever stormed off. I’ve never had a show been stopped.’
Describing himself as ‘a consummate professional’, Kennedy said: ‘It is all about reputation and you have to be spotless. Your reputation is so important to you and I have only ever had nothing but good reviews.’
Kennedy, who runs Alpha Male Strippers and Buff Butlers Aberdeen, has appeared on breakfast TV to discuss his hobby as an unregulated sperm donor
Kennedy is seen on a TV show discussing his hobby as a sperm donor
However, to counter his claim of having a spotless reputation, fiscal depute Jennifer Bairner was granted dispensation by Sheriff Paul Reid to refer to Kennedy’s previous conviction.
She told the court he was a convicted sex offender, having been found guilty of an identical offence while carrying out another show in his firefighter persona.
‘Have the High Court of Justiciary given a ‘review’ of one of your performances?’ the prosecutor asked. ‘Has that impacted on your business?’
Kennedy replied: ‘It was widely reported. If anything it boosted things.’
He told the court the bride-to-be may have been ‘raging’ when he first arrived to carry out his act, but he said he felt she was happy to play along with the show.
He described her as ‘no shrinking violet’ and ‘quite a force to be reckoned with’ and said he believed her consent had only been withdrawn when she fled to the bathroom.
Kennedy, from Bridge of Don, said he had already dropped part of his act after seeing her size and assessing that some parts of the show may be challenging for her to physically participate in.
He denied ‘jiggling her breasts’ and said they may have been moving around as she waved her hands in the air while he carried out a spoof search for ‘explosives.’
‘She jiggled her arms a bit which – in a larger woman – can cause jiggling,’ he said. ‘I didn’t touch her breasts. That could be suicide and ruin the business. One bad review and it’s over.’
He admitted he had been asked to leave before taking any of his clothes off. He told the court her breasts my have moved while he was performing a routine to the Village People hit YMCA.
The solicitor told the trial she became hysterical and ran off to vomit after Kennedy ‘jiggled her breasts’ during his performance at her hen party.
The incident took place at Crieff Hydro (pictured), a four-star hotel resort in Perthshire, Scotland
The 32-year-old bride-to-be said she was ‘shocked’ and ‘froze’ when Kennedy burst into the party at Crieff Hydro.
She told the trial at that she was embarrassed and felt forced to participate in the show after it was secretly arranged by one of her sisters.
‘The door burst open and slammed hard against the opposite wall. A man dressed in a firefighter’s uniform came in,’ she said.
‘I began to realise he was there as some form of entertainment. I started crying and panicking. Eventually I understood he was there for me as he asked who the bride was.
‘I decided I had to grin and bear it and go through it. It’s not my preference, that kind of activity. I didn’t think I was in danger, just that it would be unpleasant and not to my taste.
‘Me storming off felt like it would be an over-reaction,’ she said, as she explained 15 members of the party were grouped into a lodge for a prosecco and pizza party.
‘I wasn’t fully appreciating what he was doing. I was just in shock. His crotch was within half a foot of my face. I was trying to communicate that I was not a willing participant.
She told the court Kennedy ‘violated’ her and licked her nose with his tongue, although she said it was not intentional as he was simulating kissing her.
‘He was behind me and went straight to grab both my breasts and jiggled them about. He saw some of the girls gasp. By now they were all panicking.
‘When he was not near me I bolted towards the door. I made it to the bathroom. I was physically sick. I vomited in the toilet. I was crying hysterically and screaming and grabbing my hair.’
Her younger sister told police in a statement: ‘He put his legs over her and did a Magic Mike sort of thing. He got his waist close to her face.
‘He was dry humping her while she was sat down. She was visibly upset and left. I think the way he stormed in gave us a fright and this triggered her.
‘I enjoyed myself and I don’t remember anything you wouldn’t expect from a stripper at a hen party.’
Kennedy, 42, was found guilty of shaking the woman’s breasts and making her drink through a penis-shaped straw during his show for a hen party on March 22 last year.
He was further found guilty of intentionally causing the same woman to participate in sexual activity by sitting on her and forcing her to handle a fake penis.
Kennedy, who runs Alpha Male Strippers and Buff Butlers Aberdeen, has appeared on breakfast TV to discuss his hobby as an unregulated sperm donor. He was cleared of rape at the High Court in Aberdeen in June this year.
