Woman sexually assaulted by postman killed herself while on phone to Royal Mail

A woman who was sexually assaulted by a postman killed herself while she was on the phone to Royal Mail staff, a court has heard. Carly Wealleans died at her home in Newbiggin, Northumberland, in March 2022 while speaking to a manager at the postal service and was described as being ‘in a very distressed state’ during the call.

She had been attacked months earlier by postman Michael Stewart, 63, who grabbed her shirt, looked at her breasts, kissed her and exposed himself to her three times. In December 2021, Ms Wealleans, an aspiring Olympic boxer, made a statement to police saying she felt suicidal due to the trauma from the assault and Royal Mail’s inadequate response to it.

She was referred to mental health services and struggled to eat and sleep. For emotional support, you can call the Samaritans 24-hour helpline on 116 123, email jo@samaritans.org, visit a Samaritans branch in person or go to the Samaritans website.

Their HOPELINE247 is open every day of the year, 24 hours a day. You can call 0800 068 4141, text 88247 or email: pat@papyrus-uk.org. In January 2022, she told police that she had taken an overdose. Two months later, on March 11, she phoned Royal Mail ‘in a very distressed state and blamed her ill health on Stewart’s offending against her and how this was dealt with by Royal Mail’, Newcastle Crown Court heard.

Judge Robert Spragg said she took her own life during that call. Stewart, of Windsor Crescent, Amble, Northumberland, was convicted of 12 offences of sexual assault, harassment and exposure, in relation to five victims, after a trial at Newcastle Crown Court.

On November 25, 2024 Metro launched This Is Not Right, a year-long campaign to address the relentless epidemic of violence against women. Throughout the year we will be bringing you stories that shine a light on the sheer scale of the epidemic. With the help of our partners at Women's Aid, This Is Not Right aims to engage and empower our readers on the issue of violence against women.

You can find more articles here, and if you want to share your story with us, you can send us an email at vaw@metro.co.uk. Read more:. He was imprisoned for six-and-a-half years. The court was told that Royal Mail had not taken proper steps to address Stewart’s behaviour and allowed him to continue working despite several complaints.

Royal Mail has apologised and launched a ‘high-level’ review into the case. Ms Wealleans’ family say their lives have been ‘destroyed’ by her death. Her brother, Sam, also tragically passed away after falling ill while running the Great North Run in memory of his sister last year.

The 29-year-old took part in the race to raise money for the mental health charity Mind. He became ill during the event and later passed away in hospital. A fundraiser reached more than £31,000 in the aftermath of his death. In a statement released at the time, Sam’s parents said: ‘We are devastated and heartbroken following the sudden and unexpected death of our beloved son, Sam.

‘We have been overwhelmed by the thousands of kind messages and charitable donations from people across the country and would like to sincerely thank everyone for their support and sympathy. ‘Our family have taken great comfort in knowing he was loved by all who knew him.’.

Stewart, who worked at Royal Mail for over 20 years and was described as a ‘family man’, concealed his sinister motives through his ‘kind word and cheeky smile’, the court was told. Judge Robert Spragg told him: ‘I pay tribute to all the women who had have the courage to bring this case against you.

‘You hid what you were doing in plain sight, behind the facade of respectability, to allow you to get away with it for some time. ‘Tragically they were not listened to properly when they did report you. ‘You just carried on even after you were warned or they told you to stop. Proper steps to stop you in your tracks were not taken.’.

Judge Spragg added: ‘No sentence I pass can undo the harm that has been caused.’. The judge told Stewart that Ms Wealleans’ victim impact statement ‘referred to self-harm and suicide and she was actually on the phone to Royal Mail management when she ended her life showing a clear causal link’.

‘While this response was not predictable, it was nonetheless as a result of what you did,’ he added. ‘It is impossible to know the full reasons why someone chooses to take their own life but I repeat, had you not behaved in this manner towards her it is clear she would not have suffered the severe psychological harm she did, leading to the loss of her life.’.

Another woman who was also assaulted by Stewart described him as ‘creepy’. She reported the attack to Royal Mail and he was ‘suspended for a few days’ from his route. The court heard he showed the victim a picture of his penis on his phone when he returned to that round.