Mailman Charged With Sex Crime For Assaulting Disabled Woman At Her Home

A mailman in Mississippi is facing charges after a disabled woman accused him of sexual assault. She said the man entered her home and attacked her while delivering mail in February.

Mark Poag was charged Friday with first-degree sodomy, the Springfield News-Leader reported.

The 78-year-old woman, whose identity was not revealed, had requested the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to deliver her mails to her door instead of depositing them in the mailbox, local outlet KY3 reported. On the day of the incident, there was snowfall and the woman had to open her garage to allow mailman access to her home in Springfield.

The woman told investigators that Poag took his shoes off before coming in and put the mail down on a table. Then, he walked to her bedroom and sexually assaulted her.

The GPS data from the mail truck revealed that Poag was at the residence for 18 minutes when the alleged incident occurred. There is no valid reason for a mailman to be in a house for that long, a postal inspector told KY3.

USPS began an investigation after Springfield Police notified the agency about the incident.

Paul Shade, a spokesman for the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, said their job was to investigate crimes involving USPS. He added, "Anything from your mail frauds, your mail thefts, shipping drugs through the mail, those sort of things. Which obviously includes any crimes against a postal employee or by a postal employee while on duty."

It is not known if the mailman is still working with the agency. USPS' standard policy is to place an employee on a non-duty status while an investigation is going on against them.

Police said the victim was severely affected by the incident, which made her shift to a new home, reported the Springfield News-Leader.

A similar incident involving a disabled person happened earlier this month in New York City. A man was charged after he stabbed his disabled son in the heart with a screwdriver. The 6-year-old boy survived the attack. The man was charged with second-degree attempted murder, first-degree assault, three counts of second-degree assault, fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon, second-degree unlawful imprisonment, third-degree assault and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child.