2010: STOURBRIDGE MAN JAILED FOR MULTIPLE SEX ASSAULTS
A man from Stourbridge was sentenced to prison for indecent assaulting women while traveling on a bus en route to his sex offenders treatment program.During proceedings at Wolverhampton Crown Court on Wednesday, March 17, Martin Wood was sentenced to five years in prison for assaults on vulnerable women, which included a mother with her two children.
The judge, Recorder James Burbidge QC, characterized Wood as a "danger to women" and highlighted the substantial risk he posed for future offending.
It was decided that the 45-year-old, who lives on Bredon Road, would only be allowed to re-enter society once authorities are satisfied he is no longer a threat.
The court noted Wood's history of targeting women in public, especially on buses, and his use of a sex toy to carry out some of the assaults, which left one victim particularly traumatized.
The judge also expressed concern that Wood, who had previously served a nine-year sentence for rape in 1989, had committed these offenses while attending a sex offenders program.
Addressing Wood directly, the court mentioned that although he was making some progress in the program, his continued criminal behavior was alarming.
The court described him as a repeat sex offender with numerous convictions for indecent assault, indicating a pattern of inability to cease offending.
The offenses all occurred in public places and his prior rape conviction underscored his capacity to commit serious sexual crimes.
It was noted that Wood often deliberately sat next to victims on buses and appeared to derive some disturbing gratification from victims' court testimonies.
Despite initially denying four charges of indecent assault involving three women, Wood ultimately pleaded guilty after video evidence established his presence on the buses during the offenses.
