I work at a small company of about 14. We don't have HR and our manager is the owner and president along with his wife.
About a year ago our Office Managers husband was in the paper for sexual assault of a minor and is pending trial. He lost his job at a mine outside of town and got a job here. The owner went around and asked everyone how they felt before they “officially” hired him, which was met with resistance, but the owner told us he isn't really guilty yet, so we should treat him like he is innocent. I told the owner I didn't want to be left alone around him and wouldn't be bringing my kids in anymore.
SW(Creeper) has been gradually getting more inappropriate. He started making inappropriate jokes at first, it was always me and other male co workers so I shrugged it off. One day I went to ask a coworker about the paperwork he turned in and SW was walking past and poked me in the side. I looked around to see if anyone noticed and they didn't and I didn't say anything.
The next incident happened 2 weeks ago. He came into my and the sales office to ask our sales guy a question. While SW was waiting for him he walked up behind me while I was turned away and working at my computer and put his hands out and around my neck, but far enough he didn't actually touch me, and presented to choke me. I turned around horrified looking and he kind of laughed and put his attention back on the sales guy. Again I didn't say anything. I'm awful with confrontation and awkward moments and since he didn't actually touch me, I keep minimizing it.
This week, while I was helping customers at the counter, he walked past me and hit the stack of papers that were in his hand on my butt. I turned around and he was walking fast, I was helping customer, so again I didn't say anything. Then yesterday, I was assisting a customer and asked SW to find a part for him. He came back inside and said “I couldn't find that babe, but” and started rambling about another option. I looked at the customer and he didn't seem to notice or care.
So today, I pulled the owners wife into my office and told her I was getting very uncomfortable with him and told her about the last 3 incidents. She said she would tell her husband but that I need to confront SW and let him know it's not okay.
I would rather go work somewhere else then have to tell a grown man that what he is doing is inappropriate and I really don't think it's the correct way of going about this, but maybe I'm wrong? Am I expected to talk to SW myself before expecting the owners to talk to him?
I'm a 29F he is probably in his 60s
Edit to add an update, and sorry I haven't responded to comments, I will later today.
UPDATE:
The owners pulled me into their office and said they would confront him, But then they would need to confront everyone else that is touching me and I don't want to be that girl in a male dominated work place. Myself, the owners wife and the office manager are the only women that work for this company. I have one old coworker that comes up to me everyday and pulls a little piece of my hair as a hello, another coworker that comes and messes up my hair everyday (he is a friend outside of work though, even though it's annoying he messes my hair up) another coworker sneaks in and touches my ear then leaves, and the sales guy will occasionally touch my head when my headphones are in, they are connected to my computer because my phone doesn't have a headphone jack and I like listening to YouTube, and it shocks me and makes the computers turn black.
I am a people pleaser and socially awkward so this is a really hard situation that at this point I'm going to just deal with or find a new job. SW makes sure we aren't alone when he does this stuff and I can't even imagine trying to tell him what he is doing isn't okay in front of a customer or group of coworkers. FML.