Stuart Kennedy, a 42-year-old male stripper from Aberdeen, was convicted at Perth Sheriff Court of sexually assaulting a bride-to-be during a hen party at Crieff Hydro lodge in Perthshire. The incident occurred in March 2023, when Kennedy, performing as a firefighter, engaged in a risqué routine that involved inappropriate physical contact with the victim without her consent.
The victim, who was celebrating her hen weekend with friends and family, initially played along but soon became distressed. Kennedy grabbed and 'jiggled' her breasts during what he described as an airport-style pat down, and forced her to drink through a penis-shaped straw while repeatedly thrusting his hips towards her and making her handle a fake penis. The woman felt violated, ran from the room hysterically upset, locked herself in the bathroom, and vomited. She later testified that she was crying hysterically, screaming, and pulling her hair in distress.
During the two-day trial, Kennedy denied any wrongdoing, claiming the accuser was lying and insisting he was a 'consummate professional' with around 4,000 shows in nearly 20 years. He described his £400 service as a 'beautiful gift' covered by £10m public liability insurance and maintained that he never touched her breasts, calling it 'commercial suicide'. Kennedy portrayed the victim as 'verbally feisty but physically limp', noting she rolled her eyes and said 'No, thank you' repeatedly. He suggested the situation was 'refund territory' when she left the room.
Sheriff Paul Reid convicted Kennedy, stating he had not done enough to establish consent from the highly uncomfortable victim. In his judgment, the sheriff emphasised that the event was meant to be enjoyable for the bride-to-be and should never have ended in a criminal trial. He noted it should have been obvious she was not comfortable, yet Kennedy continued. 'Your actions that night were criminal,' Reid told Kennedy, accusing him of playing the victim and showing no respect for the verdict.
This was Kennedy's second sexual assault conviction. In 2022, he was found guilty at Aberdeen Sheriff Court of assaulting another woman at a hen party by sitting naked on her lap and rubbing his body against another. He was placed on the sex offenders register for that offence and lost an appeal against the conviction. During cross-examination in the Perth trial, Kennedy claimed the previous case had given his business a 'boost' and accused the fiscal's office of misconduct by including 'made-up' allegations.
At sentencing, Sheriff Reid said the custody threshold had been crossed but opted for an alternative to prison. Kennedy was sentenced to 175 hours of unpaid work and ordered to remain on the sex offenders register for five years. His solicitor, Ross Donnelly, confirmed Kennedy had reflected on the conviction, admitted he failed to read signals during the performance, and decided to quit the stripping profession. Despite this, in a pre-sentencing interview, Kennedy continued to suggest the victim had made up or misremembered the assault. The sheriff expressed concern over Kennedy's attitude to his previous offending, stressing that consent requirements applied to him and his show.
The case was reported by The Press and Journal, highlighting Kennedy's unrepentant behaviour, including running away from court after his previous conviction (source: DC Thomson/Facebook image caption).