An elderly neighbour was subjected to 11 years of unwanted sexual behaviour before a 73-year-old man admitted exposing himself and committing an act of outraging public decency.
Robert May, of The Village in Chaddesley Corbett, Worcestershire, pleaded guilty at Kidderminster Magistrates’ Court on September 15. He is due to be sentenced on October 19.
The case came after years of complaints from his 79-year-old neighbour, Margaret Day, and her family. Day and her daughter, Sue Mason-Day, have waived their right to anonymity and spoken publicly about the ordeal, saying the behaviour began when Margaret’s husband, Brian, was still alive.
According to Mason-Day, the harassment initially took the form of inappropriate text messages. Margaret had asked May to look after her birds while she and her husband were away on holiday, but the response allegedly turned the request into an opportunity for sexual comments.
One message referred to May wanting to see Margaret’s breasts, while another suggested he should be allowed to see them because he did things for her.
Margaret questioned whether he was joking and repeatedly told him to stop, her daughter said. The messages continued, however, eventually prompting Brian to confront May and warn that the family would contact police if the behaviour did not end.
Mason-Day said the confrontation brought an end to the friendship between the families, but not to May’s alleged behaviour towards Margaret.
Brian died in December 2014. Even after his death, May continued to send messages to Margaret, according to her daughter. One message, sent after Margaret had put her bins out for collection, referred to what May allegedly wanted to see.
The family later installed a Ring doorbell at Margaret’s home after she became increasingly concerned that she was being watched.
Footage from the camera, Mason-Day said, showed May entering Margaret’s garden through a closed rear gate and touching bras that were hanging on a washing line. The incident was reported to police, although Mason-Day said the family initially wanted officers to speak to May and warn him about his behaviour.
The situation later escalated.
In July 2025, Margaret noticed what she initially believed was a doll standing in the window of May’s property. She later realised it was May himself, naked, according to her daughter.
Mason-Day said her mother had been making a cup of tea when she saw him standing in the window and was frightened because he appeared to be close enough to look directly into her kitchen.
The family subsequently gathered evidence showing May naked and masturbating in the window of his flat, with the activity visible from Margaret’s home. The material was handed to police.
May initially denied the offence but later changed his plea and admitted an act of outraging public decency on September 15.
The case has also exposed the wider strain that the prolonged behaviour placed on Margaret and her family. Mason-Day said her mother had lived with the situation for 11 years and claimed some people in the village had accused her of targeting May.
For Margaret and her daughter, the decision to speak publicly was intended to set out their account of what happened after more than a decade of unwanted attention from a neighbour who lived close to her home.
May remains due to be sentenced at court on October 19.
