A Syrian Skip the Dishes food delivery driver charged with sexual assault of a client took the stand in B.C. Supreme Court to plead his innocence in front of a Âé¶čAV jury on March 27.
Hamid Al Dergham, 51, was charged after events that transpired while delivering an order to a woman in Âé¶čAV on May 3, 2021.
The accused has been using an Arabic translator to communicate in the courtroom and has stated that he only speaks âa little Englishâ. It is not clear when Al Dergham arrived in Canada or left Syria, but he said that he moved to Âé¶čAV in 2014.
The claimant, who will be referred to as Jane Doe to protect her anonymity due to a publication ban, testified on March 23. She said that when Al Dergham delivered her order of McDonalds, he groped her crotch and breasts and tried to kiss her on the mouth.
While under cross examination, Al Dergham told the court, âI havenât grabbed any part of her body.â
He denied any allegations of inappropriate conduct between himself and Doe.
WhattsApp messages between Al Dergham and Doe that were sent that night and the following day have been entered as evidence.
The Crown lawyer suggested that Al Dergham had access to Doeâs cell phone number because of his job with Skip the Dishes.
Al Dergham denied this and testified that Doe had physically entered her number into his phone after they met when he delivered her food.
This contradicts Doeâs testimony and when pressed, Al Dergham stood up in court holding the Quran and asked to take another oath to affirm that he was not given Doeâs phone number as a Skip the Dishes driver.
The judge told him that it would not be necessary, as he has already taken an oath.
Al Dergham alleged that during the food delivery, Doe initiated conversation, entered her number into his phone and using a translator app, asked him for help.
Al Dergham then sent Doe a series of messages, later that night including âcan I visit you now?â at 12:08 a.m. and âplease send me a picture of you,â followed by a rose emoji at 1:23 a.m., and messages and a phone call later on May 4.
Doe did not reply to these messages and did not answer the phone call.
Al Dergham alleged that he didnât know the rules in Canada, and did not know that it is not customary to send roses simply as a sign of friendship and messages late at night.
âI just want to reiterate that I am innocent. She was the one that put her number and she told me to message her, I just wanted to help her.â
At one point, Doe sent the message, âStop contacting me⊠I ordered food, not to be sexually assaulted,â
To which Al Dergham replied âI am sorry, this will not happen again.â
He said that what he meant is that he will not message her anymore, not that he was apologizing for an assault.
Al Dergham remains out of custody during the trial.
The trial continues until Wednesday.
Jacqueline.Gelineau@kelownacapnews.com
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