Great-gran 'shocked' after delivery driver repeatedly groped her

A great-grandmother was “shocked” after being repeatedly groped by a delivery driver in her own home.

The 73-year-old woman was patted on her breast “three or four times” by Hermes employee Graham Kennedy, 40, at the flat in Glasgow’s Possilpark on November 10, 2020.

The retired cook confronted Kennedy who apologised and told her he was trying to “pat her tummy.”

She was further alarmed when Kennedy delivered an item to her home a few weeks after she had reported him to the company he was doing deliveries for.

Kennedy denied the single sexual assault charge on the woman at Glasgow Sheriff Court.

He claimed that he tickled the woman amid claims she told him she was lonely.

The woman stated in evidence that Kennedy arrived at her flat to collect rugs to return to the Wayfair company.

Prosecutor Derek Buchanan asked what company the driver worked for.

She replied: “Hermes.”

The woman added: “When I opened the door, he had no mask on.

“I said stand back, there are three or four rugs at the bottom of my door.”

The woman claimed Kennedy had a problem as there appeared to be no returns labels on the rugs.

She called Wayfair’s customer service in the meantime.

The woman said: “He came in [the living room] with one of the rugs in his hand.

“He said he would open up one of the rugs to see if there was a returns label inside.

“He came and sat next to me on the sofa before I knew it…he patted me on my left breast three or four times.”

Mr Buchanan asked if she invited Kennedy to sit down.

She replied: “I didn’t invite him into my house never mind my sofa.

“I was so taken aback…I jumped up in shock.

“I said ‘I’m an old woman’.

“It was just the shock of a young man doing that to an old woman.

“He said he didn’t mean it and he meant to pat my tummy.”

The woman called Kennedy a “dirty b******” and ordered him to “get out” her flat.

She then called Wayfair to complain about Kennedy’s conduct.

The woman said she felt “worn out” after having to repeat the circumstances to Wayfair and Hermes.

She stated that “three or four weeks” later Kennedy delivered a car cover to her from the Aldi supermarket.

She said: “He put the parcel down and moved back, I was just in total shock.

“I remember him saying ‘did you get the rugs uplifted?’ and he walked away.”

Mr Buchanan asked how the woman felt about the first incident.

She replied: “Totally disgusted, I can’t express in words how I felt.

“My person was invaded by a stranger.

“When you are a great grandmother, you don’t expect someone to do that to you in your own home.”

Neil Kilcoyne, defending, put it to the woman that there was a discussion between the pair about printers and getting return labels from a shop.

The lawyer then said: “His position is you said to him that you were alone and he laughed and said are you looking for somebody else?

“You were sitting to his left and he had two fingers and touched you at the side.”

The woman – who is divorced and widowed – replied: “I totally refute that statement, I love being on my own, I don’t want a man in my life.”

Kennedy was quizzed by police and the interview was shown to the court.

He denied touching the woman but admitted giving her a “tickle” at the side of her.

Sheriff Valerie Mays told Kennedy when convicting him that he touched the woman and didn’t accept that he had tickled her.

The sheriff said: “You touched her sexually and the fact you touched her sexually gives rise that it was sexually motivated and for those reasons I find you guilty.”

Sentence was deferred until next month for background reports and Kennedy was put on the sex offenders register meantime.