ANDREW WOOD FROM KIRKBY-IN-ASHFIELD JAILED FOR RAPE IN NOTTINGHAMSHIRE

In May 2012, a young girl from Nottinghamshire endured a harrowing ordeal at the hands of Andrew Wood, a man residing in Kirkby-in-Ashfield. The incident unfolded during a night when she was under the influence of an alcopop and cider, which may have impaired her judgment and heightened her vulnerability.

According to her account, Wood unbuttoned her top and took explicit photographs of her chest using his mobile phone. Without her consent, he then proceeded to commit a sexual assault that lasted approximately ten minutes. During this assault, she closed her eyes, overwhelmed by fear and uncertainty about what might happen next. She was afraid that if she screamed, Wood might become violent, so she chose to remain silent in the hope that it would prevent further harm.

Her ordeal concluded when Wood kissed her, pulled up her trousers, and covered her with a coat, leaving her physically unharmed but emotionally scarred. Recognizing the importance of evidence, she took immediate steps to preserve what she could. She transferred the photograph Wood had taken of her from his mobile device to her own phone and kept his phone as part of her evidence collection. Additionally, she placed the clothing she had worn during the attack into a bag to be handed over to the police.

The girl confided that her initial silence was driven by fear of disbelief and the shock of what had happened. She explained, “By keeping quiet I thought it would stop him from doing anything else.” Her awareness of the importance of evidence was influenced by her interest in crime dramas, which underscored the need for support and documentation in cases of sexual assault.

For two days following the attack, she kept her trauma to herself, contemplating her next move. Eventually, she confided in a teacher at her school. The school then contacted her mother, who immediately went to the school to support her daughter. The girl was too distressed to directly recount the incident, so her mother read a statement she had provided to a social worker. Her mother described her daughter's state upon arrival: “I got there and my daughter was looking really, really scared. I crouched down near her and said, ‘what’s wrong?’ and she was very quiet.”

After reviewing the statement, her mother and the girl returned home and reported the assault to the police. The victim then attended a police station where she provided a recorded video interview and visited The Topaz Centre, Nottinghamshire’s Sexual Assault Referral Centre, for a medical examination. During the journey, her mother tried to hide her own tears, but her daughter noticed and comforted her, demonstrating her resilience and love.

Andrew Wood, aged 44 and residing on Welbeck Street in Kirkby-in-Ashfield, was charged with rape and the taking of an indecent photograph on the same night in 2010. Confronted with the evidence, he eventually pleaded guilty to the charges. He was sentenced to six years in prison at Nottingham Crown Court, having initially denied the allegations. The court ordered that he serve half of his sentence behind bars, with the remainder on licence.

Judge John Milmo QC stated that he did not believe Wood had supplied the girl with alcohol during the incident. Upon release, Wood will be prohibited from working with children and will be subject to a Sexual Offences Prevention Order, which will restrict his contact with minors. Additionally, he will be required to register as a sex offender for life.

The girl’s mother expressed her dissatisfaction with the length of the sentence, stating, “It’s not long enough for what he’s put her through and how it’s affected her.” The young victim, now in the process of rebuilding her life with the support of counseling, shared her feelings about the attack. She said, “He took something special away from me that he should not have done, which was my virginity.” She also revealed that she continues to have disturbing dreams involving Wood, where he endangers her and others, reflecting the lasting impact of her trauma.