April 2009 Child rapist will serve 14-year jail term for assaults on teen girls A CHILD rapist convicted of sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl and other serious sexual offences has been jailed for 14 years. The victims and police have welcomed the sentence given to 57-year-old David Glass, of Hayne Close, Whipton, Exeter. Glass, a self-confessed wood fetishist, was convicted at Exeter Crown Court in December of 10 charges involving sexual attacks against three girls aged under 18. Included was the rape of a child. The jury returned unanimous guilty verdicts on all the charges. Glass was convicted of rape, causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and two charges of indecency with a child. He was also found guilty of two indecent assaults, two further charges of indecency with a child involving a different victim, sexual activity with a child, and engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child. During his trial, Glass accepted he committed some offences against one of the girls, who was aged under 16. He pleaded guilty to two offences of indecency with a child and one of sexual activity with a child, involving the third complainant. But he had denied other allegations involving the same girl and other charges concerning offences committed against two other youngsters from the city during the last few years. The court heard that Glass, an odd-job man, told police two of the girls had accidentally seen him committing a sexual act involving his fetish for touching wood. But he said he did not intend the girls to see him and he denied the extent of the allegations they made against him. During the trial it emerged Glass had a fetish for wood but he told the court at one point: “It doesn’t need to be wood. It could be plastic, metal, whatever.” DC Alan Simons, of the major crime investigation team, said: “David Glass abused the trust placed in him by the parents of three vulnerable children. “All the girls knew him well and would have trusted him prior to any offences against them. “He has continued to deny the vast majority of the offences and put the three victims through the indignity of describing their ordeals to a court. “He has irreversibly damaged the lives of three young people, and shown no remorse or recognition of the damage he has done. “The trial judge has recognised this and the sentence of 14 years in prison is welcomed by the police, and the victims.” DC Simons said the case was unusual and had been challenging. Glass was previously tried before when there was only one victim, resulting in a hung jury. The case was then pursued again when two other victims came forward.