A woman who was left traumatised after being sexually assaulted by a postman killed herself while on the phone to Royal Mail, a court has heard.
Carly Wealleans died at her home in Newbiggin, Northumberland, in March 2022 during a call with a manager at the postal service in which she was described as being in a very distressed state.
It came months after she had been abused by pervert postman Michael Stewart, 63, who had grabbed her shirt, looked at her breasts, kissed her, and exposed himself to her three times.
Miss Wealleans, a former Olympic boxing hopeful, made a statement to police in December 2021 saying she felt suicidal because of the trauma she had suffered after what Stewart had done and the Royal Mail response to it. She was referred to mental health services.
She was struggling to sleep and eat and in January 2022 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 was told.
Judge Robert Spragg said that during that call she took her own life.
Today, Stewart, a postman of more than 20 years, was jailed for six-and-a-half years after he was convicted of 12 offences of sexual assault, harassment and exposure, in relation to five victims.
Carly Wealleans, pictured with her brother Sam, killed herself while on the phone to Royal Mail after she was sexually assaulted by her postman Michael Stewart
Stewart, a postman of more than 20 years, was jailed for six-and-a-half years after he was convicted of 12 offences of sexual assault, harassment and exposure, in relation to five victims
In a double tragedy, Miss Wealleans’ brother Sam also died after falling ill towards the end of the Great North Run, which he was carrying out in her memory.
The 29-year-old was raising money for mental health charity Mind when he became poorly during the race last September and he later passed away in hospital.
The 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.’
The court was told that Royal Mail had received several complaints about Stewart’s behaviour but no proper steps were taken to against him and he continued to work.
Royal Mail has apologised and launched a ‘high level’ review into the case.
The court heard ‘family man’ Stewart hid his sinister motives by having a ‘kind word and cheeky smile’ with people he encountered.
Sentencing, Judge 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.’
The judge spoke out about the lack of steps to tackle Stewart, of Amble, Northumberland, after complaints were made.
He said: ‘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.’
He added: ‘No sentence I pass can undo the harm that has been caused.’
Judge Spragg told Stewart that Miss 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 said.
‘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.’
Miss Wealleans’ family say their lives have been ‘destroyed’ by her death.
Newcastle Crown Court (pictured) was told that Royal Mail had received several complaints about Stewart’s behaviour but no proper steps were taken against him and he continued to work
The court heard one woman described Stewart as ‘creepy’ after she was sexually assaulted by him.
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.
She said in an impact statement she was left ‘disgusted’ and that Stewart turned from a ‘nice guy to someone she had to hide from’.
Another victim, who has also since died, said Stewart was ‘like a kid in a sweet shop’ while staring at her chest and he put his foot over the threshold of her door to grope her.
She said she was left feeling ‘uncomfortable and unsafe in her own house’.
A fourth victim was sexually assaulted three times by Stewart and said she was left ‘devastated’, with her mental health badly affected.
The fifth woman, who also found Stewart to be ‘creepy’, said she ‘froze’ when he targeted her. She reported what happened to Royal Mail management but ‘never heard anything back’.
Jessica Slaughter, defending, said character references from those who know Stewart describe a ‘different version’ of him.
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.
‘The protection of our colleagues and customers is our utmost priority. 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.’
For confidential support, call Samaritans on 116 123, visit samaritans.org or visit https://www.thecalmzone.net/get-support
