A 73-year-old man has been spared jail after tormenting a widowed grandmother by performing sex acts at his window and fondling bras on her washing line. Robert May, from Chaddesley Corbett, Worcestershire, pleaded guilty to outraging public decency and was handed a 27-week prison sentence, suspended for 12 months, at Kidderminster Magistrates' Court on Monday (October 19).
Decade of harassment
Margaret Day, 79, said her life was made a misery by May, who harassed her for over a decade and sent texts demanding to see her breasts. The court heard that in the summer of 2025, Mrs Day caught May masturbating from his flat window on more than 30 occasions.
May initially told officers he had been applying deep heat for his aching joints and that the curtain must have fallen down. He was brought to justice after Mrs Day's daughter, Susan Mason-Day, caught his behaviour on camera and passed the evidence to police.
Nonsensical explanations
District Judge Ian Strongman told the court that May maintained there had been no wrongdoing on his part despite his plea. Mr Strongman said: "I have to say that is a blatantly a nonsensical account."
The court also heard that May was caught on a Ring doorbell sneaking into Mrs Day's back garden and fondling underwear on her washing line. He claimed he had gone in to fetch his dog's ball and accidentally touched the bra while steadying himself. Mr Strongman said: "Again, a nonsensical explanation... Regrettably, although he pleaded guilty to the charge and wishes to maintain a guilty plea he fails to accept any wrongdoing."
Victim impact and sentence
In a victim statement read to court, Mrs Day said she now feels like an outcast in her own community. The statement said: "I feel sad, anxious and I feel that my lovely life in Chaddesley has been contaminated and the people around me won't speak to me. My blood pressure is really high and I've had to see doctors often. I feel as though it has affected who I can trust around me as he was a friend."
May was ordered to pay £500 compensation and made subject to a three-year restraining order. Prosecutor Miss Blacklocke said May had initially been a friend of Mrs Day and her late husband, Brian. Speaking after the case, daughter Susan, 54, from Kidderminster, said: "I thought at one point the judge was going to send him down but I think the suspended sentence is fair enough. The main thing was to keep him away from mum so this could all stop and hopefully the restraining order achieves that."
Katherine Maynereid, defending May, said: "He's been a hard-working man up until he had to retire in 2017 due to health issues. He lives on his own in a flat. He has no previous convictions up until the date of this offence. He no longer stands near his window, the curtain pole and the net curtain has been fixed. This has had quite an impact on Mr May. The case has been widely reported. He's lost his good character and his reputation is ruined essentially."
