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A “friendly” postman who was highly regarded within his community has been jailed after he snuck into properties at night to steal women’s underwear. Appearing at Bouremouth Crown Court on his 59th birthday, Glen Holden was a postman for 32 years in the Sherborne area and struck up a rapport with residents over the years.
The court heard how while Holden was described as a beloved and “friendly” postman who regularly spoke to residents he served, he had an unhealthy obsession with stealing women’s underwear for his own sexual gratification. His obsession escalated from pinching underwear from washing lines to using a ladder to enter properties he knew women lived at to find underwear.
Althea Brooks, prosecuting, said Holden, dressed in black with a head torch, entered a property in Manor Road in Milborne Port at around 1.30am on June 23, but its sleeping occupants awoke sounds of him inside the home. She said: “The victims were asleep and something caused the female victim to wake up.
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“Through a glass door at the bottom of their master bedroom, she noticed a moving white light and sensed that there must be someone in the house. She and her partner went downstairs but couldn’t see anyone.
“As they went to the spare room, the door was open and they saw that the bed which was on casters had been moved to the window as well as a chest of draws which contained their daughter’s clothing. She did notice something that was shiny propped up against the window and realised it was a ladder and the large window was wide open.
“She didn’t recall it being open when she retired to bed.” The female victim called police on 111 and the telescopic ladder owned by Holden was seized by officers.
She said in a victim impact statement that he was “friendly” and “chatty” when he delivered her post and she was left horrified he entered her home at night to look for underwear. Describing it as a “betrayal of trust”, she said: “This burglary appears to have been calculated.
“I would presume he left his address in Sherborne in the early hours of the night and drove to my address with the intention of breaking into my house. I still can’t understand what he was after.”
The second incident, which saw Holden fall out of a first-floor window and fracture his leg, occurred at 1am on July 13 in King’s Road in Sherborne. Holden had entered the house via a ladder shortly after pressing a door bell to check if anyone was home – but woke up the housesitter who investigated the noises in the property, reports Dorset Live.
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Ms Brooks continued: “She went to the front window to see if there was someone still outside. She said she was aware of some noise but hadn’t made any connection with the doorbell but when she she moved to the window, she could see a person trying to climb in, namely the defendant.
“In fear and shocked and pushed him away but then quickly tried to grab his arm to stop him from falling. That fall caused him to fracture his foot.” The victim contacted the police as Holden limped to his car and drove away.
Holden left his head torch and ladder at the property and was arrested days later on July 19 by police officers. The housesitter wrote in a statement that she has had trouble sleeping and the house owner would pace around the address armed with a cricket bat during the night.
During police interview, Holden told officers: “It’s like I’m not acting myself like a second person but I am not a hardened criminal. I’m such an idiot as my life has just got back on track.
“I just have to man up and take the hit for what I’ve done and my life is now worthless. I know I have f***** up my life”. Ms Booth added: “He did make it plain that his intention on both occasions had been to take understand and that it is a compulsion that he suffers from that he takes underwear and uses it for sexual gratification, washes the underwear and returns it.”
Holden, of Clanfield in Sherborne previously pleaded guilty at Poole Magistrates Court to two counts of entering a property as a trespasser with intent to steal. Defending, Tim Bradbury, said Holden was “utterly ashamed of himself” and noted that he has undertaken therapy to resolve his mental health issues, namely PTSD and mixed anxiety disorder.
He also expressed concerns about the welfare of Holden’s elderly mother, who he cared for, if Holden was jailed. Referencing the public embarrassment suffered following previous press coverage, Mr Bradbury said: “Once he was arrested, he thought the only proper thing he could do would be to resign.
“It may well be he many have lost his job in any event but it demonstrates the recognition of his position. He has now lost his good character and he is going to live with the shame and humiliation of these proceedings and the consequent publicity for the rest of his life.
“He has lost his employment – he can obtain other employment but with a conviction of this nature, at his age and no experience in any other work other than delivery, one can’t imagine this will be an easy task for him.” Mr Bradbury described Holden as a “hardworking man” who had previously “gained the respect and confidence of many people” in his community and within areas he served as a postman.
One couple wrote a glowing character reference signed by 46 people ahead of his sentencing at Bournemouth Crown Court. Judge Jonathan Fuller said that while he accepted his remorse for his “serious” actions, he told Holden his behaviour was a “major escalation” of his sexual behaviour and he made a calculated decision to target women’s homes.
He told Holden: “You would therefore, being an intelligent man, be fully aware of the seriousness and consequences of breaking into peoples’ homes at night and disturbing the occupants and or possible confronting them as you did with one victim. You chose to take that risk.”
Holden was issued a 16-month imprisonment on both counts to run concurrently and ordered to pay a £228 victim surcharge. Prior to the sentencing, a Royal Mail spokesman said: “Our thoughts are with all those who may have been impacted by the actions of this individual, who no longer works for Royal Mail.
“We expect the highest standards of behaviour of all our colleagues at all times. The vast majority of postmen and women are honest and hardworking.
“We always offer every assistance to police in their investigations, to ensure that the tiny minority who abuse their position of trust are prosecuted by the relevant authorities.”
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