Man Avoids Prison for Decades-Long Campaign of Flashing and Harassment

A 73-year-old man has avoided jail time for a decade-long campaign of public indecency and harassment against his neighbor, Margaret Day. Robert May was sentenced to a 27-month suspended prison sentence at Kidderminster Magistrates' Court after pleading guilty to an act of outraging public decency.

May was caught on a camera installed by Mrs. Day's daughter, Sue Mason-Day, touching bras on the washing line in the widow's garden. He also performed sex acts while standing naked in his flat window on more than 30 occasions, according to court testimony. Mrs. Day, 79, reported enduring "years of hell" starting when her husband Brian was alive and continuing after his death.

During his police interview, May initially claimed he was applying deep heat for aching joints and that a curtain had fallen, causing him to be seen naked in his window. However, he later conceded in an interview that he was not rubbing cream as he had claimed. He also provided a nonsensical explanation for touching the bras, stating he had entered the garden to retrieve his dog's ball and put his hand out to steady himself.

Court documents revealed that May had also sent Mrs. Day text messages, including one that said, "show me your breasts." He told probation officers this was meant as a joke. Despite his guilty plea, District Judge Ian Strongman noted that May maintained he had done nothing wrong.

In addition to the suspended sentence, May was ordered to pay £500 in compensation to Mrs. Day and was made subject to a three-year restraining order. Prosecutor Miss Blacklocke stated that May had initially been friends with Mrs. Day and her late husband, Brian, having known them since 2013.

Mrs. Day, in a victim statement, described feeling sad and anxious, stating that her life had been "contaminated" and that people around her would not speak to her. She reported high blood pressure and frequent doctor visits due to the ordeal. Her daughter, Sue Mason-Day, 54, expressed hope that the restraining order would draw a line under the harassment and keep May away from her mother. However, she noted concern that May could still observe her mother's property from his flat and hoped he might be moved by community housing.

The harassment reportedly began around 2013. Mrs. Mason-Day decided to install a Ring doorbell after hearing about May's behavior. The camera captured him entering her mother's garden and touching the bras. The situation escalated in July, when Mrs. Day noticed May standing naked in his window, visible from her kitchen. To gather further evidence, Mrs. Mason-Day and her husband hid in their mother's car while Mrs. Day followed her routine, which led to them recording him masturbating in his window.