'Highly dangerous' Bradford sexual predator who attacked jogger in North Yorkshire jailed

A "highly dangerous" sexual predator who attacked a jogger has been jailed for two and a half years.

Charles Fraser Wood, 43, touched the woman inappropriately while exposing himself and performing a sex act in North Yorkshire on Tuesday, 9 April.

His victim had been running on the canal towpath alongside Station Road towards Kildwick village.

Wood fled the scene after the attack, but the woman managed to take a photograph of him before making her way to the main road.

She then looked back and saw Wood continue to expose himself as he hid in bushes.

The woman approached a dog walker who called 999. After a police appeal, a member of the public sent in dashcam footage of a man matching the description and photo taken by the victim.

Wood, from Bradford, was then identified by a West Yorkshire Police officer and arrested two days later.

A police baton, a flip knife and items of clothing were seized from his home and car. The items of clothing matched the photo taken by the victim and the dashcam footage.

Wood's phone was also found to be in the area at the time of the attack and another witness identified him as being in the area at the time.

Det Cons Hannah Kelly, of North Yorkshire Police, said: "Wood is a highly dangerous individual who was apprehended two days after the incident and has remained in custody ever since.

"A combination of information from members of the public and officers with knowledge of local offenders helped to identify Wood who, despite initially maintaining his innocence, subsequently pleaded guilty to his offences due to the case we had built against him."

Wood, of Huddersfield Road, pleaded guilty to sexual assault and exposure. He was sentenced at York Crown Court to two and a half years in prison.

He was also ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £228.

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