A 73-year-old man has been convicted after subjecting his 79-year-old neighbour to 11 years of unwanted s3xual behaviour, including inappropriate messages and exposing himself in view of her home.
Robert May, of The Village in Chaddesley Corbett, Worcestershire, pleaded guilty to an act of outraging public decency at Kidderminster Magistrates’ Court earlier this month. He is due to be sentenced on October 19. The victim, Margaret Day, and her daughter, Sue Mason-Day, have waived their right to anonymity and spoken publicly about the behaviour, which they said began while Margaret’s husband, Brian, was still alive. “It’s been going on for 11 years now,” Sue said.
“It started with text messages when my dad Brian was still alive. My mum had asked Rob to look after their birds when they went on holiday, and she received a message in response saying yes but only if he could look at her breasts.” One message from May read: “When Brian goes to the pub, let me know I’m coming over to see your breasts.” He then added: “I do things for you, so you should let me see your breasts.”
Sue said her mother initially questioned whether May was joking but repeatedly asked him to stop. “She asked him if it was a joke, but he wouldn’t let it go. She persistently asked him to stop as it wasn’t funny,” she said. Margaret’s husband eventually confronted May and warned that the family would report him to police if the behaviour continued. “My dad ended up confronting Rob and told him we’d report it to the police if he didn’t stop. From that day the friendship was over for everyone,” Sue said.
After Brian died in December 2014, May asked to attend his funeral, but the family refused. “My mum told him he was not welcome there,” Sue said. “Even after my dad died he continued to message her. One message sent after she put the bins out for collection read ‘I would have put the bin out, but you know what I want to see’.” As the behaviour continued, the family installed a Ring doorbell at Margaret’s property because she felt she was constantly being watched.
“We decided to install a Ring doorbell, and I remember looking at the footage and it shows Rob going into her garden and putting his fingers on her bras. He gained access by the rear garden via the closed gate,” Sue said. “Some of the clothing drying was my mum’s underwear including two bras. Once he got to the clothing he has then reached out with his left arm and touched both of the bras. He seemed to be rubbing the inside of the cup areas.”
The incident was reported to police, with Sue saying she initially asked officers to speak to May and warn him about his behaviour. However, she said the situation escalated further in July 2025 when Margaret noticed what she initially thought was a doll standing in May’s window.
“Last year, my mum told me she thought Rob had got a doll in his window. A few days later, she realised it was Rob standing in his window naked,” Sue said. “She said one morning while making a cup of tea she could see him and it frightened her as he had been close enough to be able to look directly into the kitchen.”
Margaret and her daughter subsequently gathered evidence showing May naked and masturbating in his flat window in full view of Margaret’s home and handed it to police. May initially pleaded not guilty to the offence but changed his plea to guilty on September 15. He is scheduled to be sentenced on October 19.
Sue said the prolonged ordeal had taken a significant toll on her mother, who she claimed had also faced criticism from some people in the local community. “It has been 11 years of hell for my mum,” she said. “People in the village have turned against her as she’s been accused of being out to get Rob. I feel it is time that people knew the truth.”