Related Articles
Royal Mail have apologised after a woman who was sexually abused by a perverted postman took her own life while on the phone to management about the incidents.
Sex attacker Michael Stewart was jailed for six-and-a-half years at Newcastle Crown Court after being convicted of sexually assaulting five women while employed by Royal Mail, where he had worked for 22 years.
The court heard that one victim tragically hanged herself while on the phone to Royal Mail about how the abuse and the way it was handled had impacted on her mental health.
Judge Robert Spragg said: “She had made a phone call to a Royal Mail manager in a distressed state, blaming her ill health on Michael Stewart’s behaviour towards her and how this was dealt with by Royal Mail. She committed suicide during the phone call.”
Stewart, 63, of Windsor Terrace, Amble, Northumberland, was convicted of two counts of sexual assault and three of exposure against the woman. He was also found guilty of sexually assaulting another woman and putting her in fear of violence by harassment. He made sexual comments towards her, grabbed his groin and showed her an image of his penis on his phone.
He was also found guilty of sexually assaulting three other women. In a victim impact statement, one woman who continued to be abused by Stewart said she reported him to two Royal Mail managers “who did nothing to help me”.
The court heard that another victim also told a Royal Mail manager, who said it was not the first complaint and said Stewart would be spoken to but the victim said she heard nothing back. She said: “I feel very let down. After reporting the assault he was allowed to continue working. He should not have touched me like that. I felt uncomfortable and this has caused me stress and anxiety.”
Royal Mail have now apologised about the “abhorrent” behaviour from Stewart who “abused his position of trust” and said that changes have been made across the organisation.
A Royal Mail spokesperson said: “These crimes were abhorrent and had significant, and in cases tragic, consequences for the victims. Stewart abused his position of trust. This verdict reflects the seriousness of his offences. We would like to publicly apologise to the victims, their families and to others who were targeted.
“Following this case, we commissioned an independent review. In line with its recommendations, we implemented changes across the organisation, including a multi-year campaign on sexual harassment and culture in the workplace, new internal reporting tools and clearer codes of conduct and expected behaviours.”
