JOHN WOOD CONVICTED OF RAPE IN GLASGOW AND FACING PRISON
John Wood was convicted at Glasgow High Court of raping two different women at his flat in Dowanhill.One of his victims has shared her account of the trauma as he awaits sentencing.
A charity worker, previously involved with vulnerable populations, now faces imprisonment for the assault crimes.
Prior to his arrest, Wood worked with organizations such as the Scottish Association for Mental Health, the Simon Community Scotland, and Turning Point Scotland.
According to the victim, she was held hostage and assaulted after ending their relationship while Wood was on holiday.
She explained, "I caught him openly flirting with a girl he'd been with in the past via a Facebook chat so I decided to end the relationship.
The night he returned from holiday was the first time he raped me." She described her shock and disbelief: "I was in complete shock and disbelief at what happened, and Wood was cold and dismissive towards me at that time." The assault occurred again a few days later when she returned to the flat to collect her belongings.
She recounted, "He held me captive in the bedroom for what felt like forever, but was actually about 45 minutes to an hour.
I tried to fight him off, but he prevented me from escaping.
I was absolutely broken and traumatised." The woman further revealed that she later learned Wood had also raped another woman, a 34-year-old.
She added, "This had a massive impact on my mental health.
I had already been struggling but continued to work full-time despite dropping out of university in my third year because of the trauma.
I foolishly believed, like many victims do, that only I had been assaulted." The second victim, who was also Wood’s girlfriend, disclosed that he first raped her early in their relationship.
She said, "He also raped her at some point during our initial meeting.
She was manipulated and coerced.
After he initially raped her in Glasgow, he raped her two more times in England." She discovered numerous messages from men and women, mostly men, on his phone and laptop, detailing sexual encounters at hotels and her home.
When she confronted him about this, their relationship ended, and it was during this breakup that he assaulted her for the last time.
Last month, at the High Court, Wood was convicted of raping his first victim and attempting to rape her at a flat in Dowanhill.
He was also found guilty of raping the second victim at the same address a month later.
His sentencing is scheduled for today.
Kenneth Crawford, director of finance and resources at Turning Point Scotland, stated that Wood was employed by the organization for a short period before the incidents and that all necessary checks were completed at that time.
Billy Watson, chief executive of SAMH, mentioned that Wood was employed by them until May 15, 2015, for two months, but he did not pass his probation and was dismissed for breaching confidentiality.
Simon Community Scotland was approached for comment.
