Robert May, 73, has been spared jail after admitting to outraging public decency, and will continue to live next door to his victim, Margaret Day, a widowed grandmother. He received a 27-week prison term, suspended for 12 months, and a three-year restraining order at Kidderminster Magistrates' Court on Monday, October 19.
Victim's 'years of hell'
Margaret Day, 79, described how May made her life "hell" in the period shortly before her husband's passing in 2014 and throughout the next decade. In her victim impact statement, she revealed she had witnessed May exposing himself and performing a sex act from his window "30 times in six weeks".
Speaking on breakfast programme This Morning, Ms Day also said May had sent her unwanted sexually explicit text messages demanding to see her breasts. In a separate incident, his behaviour was captured on Ring doorbell footage as he inappropriately handled the grandmother's underwear which had been left to dry in her garden.
Court hearing and sentence
May changed his plea to guilty to a charge of outraging public decency at Kidderminster Magistrates' Court on September 15. His defence, Katherine Maynereid, characterised him as a "hardworking man" until his retirement owing to "health issues".
Judge Ian Strongman dismissed May's explanation that he had been applying lotion to his "aching joints" when his net curtains collapsed, calling it "nonsensical". He cautioned May to keep away from Ms Day's garden and property or risk immediate imprisonment.
Family's account
Ms Day's daughter, Sue Mason-Day, who has waived her right to anonymity alongside her mum, said May had put her mother through "years of hell". She revealed an eleven-year campaign that "started with text messages".
"A week after my dad had been cremated, Rob said, 'I would've put your bin out for you, but you know what I want to see, I want to see your t*ts'," said Sue. "We could just not believe it. He had the audacity to send my mum that text message when we'd just lost my dad."
She described how, after installing Ring doorbells, she saw May enter the garden and fondle her mother's bras. She added: "Anyway, a few weeks later, she said, 'it's Rob, he's naked in the window'. We couldn't believe it that he was stood there masturbating."
The court heard Ms Day felt the matter had "affected her standing" within her local area. Mr Strongman said: "She has become isolated because of it and she has had to take steps to ensure she is safe in her own home." May was also instructed to pay the grandmother £500 in compensation.
