Invasion of Privacy of Childhood Sexual Abuse Survivor by USPS Mail Carrier
Since we got a new mail carrier about a year and a half ago, a lot of my mail (mostly checks and money orders) has turned up missing, with no evidence of tampering to my locked mailbox. I have suspected my mailcarrier, and just today, filed a complaint with the USPI website.
WHILE I was writing out my complaint, a box of books I ordered from Amazon was hand-delivered to me by my mail carrier(who refused to look me in the eye when handing me the box). When I finished writing my complaint online, I went to open the box, and the tape fell away, the box showing obvious signs of having already been opened.
The box contained books on Healing from childhood sexual abuse. I am mortified that an intimate and painful detail of my past has been unwillingly disclosed to a person who has been hired by the USPS to preserve the privacy of the contents of packages he delivers. By definition, this is a textbook example of a violation of privacy, on a federal level.
I am embarrassed, upset, and immobilized by the idea that my most shameful secret has been exposed to a stranger through felony tampering.
Should I take the box to the police for fingerprinting and file a complaint? Or file suit against the USPS?? what do I do??
Re: Invasion of Privacy of Childhood Sexual Abuse Survivor by USPS Mail Carrier
If your mail was tampered with, that is a federal crime that is investigated by US Postal Inspectors who pursue such violations as their principal job. If you are contacted by a US Postal Inspector in response to your complaint, you should cooperate with that person and provide her/him with all the evidence you have concerning the suspected thefts.
You could also file a complaint with the police, but they would probably refer you to the US Postal Inspectors as a matter more properly within their jurisdiction. If the thief is caught, he/she would be prosecuted by the federal government under federal criminal laws. If the thief is a USPS employee, the court would probably treat him/her harshly because of the breach of sworn duty and the public trust, as you have referred to.
Filing a lawsuit against the USPS itself would probably not be successful, because the Federal Tort Claims Act expressly bars such suits that arise out of the loss, miscarriage or negligent transmission of letters or postal matter. (See Title 28 US Code, Section 2680(b).)
Suing the postal worker who stole the mail or tampered with it for a privacy invasion might be possible under California law, but any judgment would probably not be collectible against the individual postal worker, who will probably be fired and put in jail, if convicted.
Re: Invasion of Privacy of Childhood Sexual Abuse Survivor by USPS Mail Carrier
If your mail was tampered with, that is a federal crime that is investigated by US Postal Inspectors who pursue such violations as their principal job. If you are contacted by a US Postal Inspector in response to your complaint, you should cooperate with that person and provide her/him with all the evidence you have concerning the suspected thefts.
You could also file a complaint with the police, but they would probably refer you to the US Postal Inspectors as a matter more properly within their jurisdiction. If the thief is caught, he/she would be prosecuted by the federal government under federal criminal laws. If the thief is a USPS employee, the court would probably treat him/her harshly because of the breach of sworn duty and the public trust, as you have referred to.
Filing a lawsuit against the USPS itself would probably not be successful, because the Federal Tort Claims Act expressly bars such suits that arise out of the loss, miscarriage or negligent transmission of letters or postal matter. (See Title 28 US Code, Section 2680(b).)
Suing the postal worker who stole the mail or tampered with it for a privacy invasion might be possible under California law, but any judgment would probably not be collectible against the individual postal worker, who will probably be fired and put in jail, if convicted.
