In an incident outside Hampden Park in Eastbourne, a man perpetrated a horrifying attack on a woman walking her dog. Lewis Wood, aged 29 and with no fixed address, approached the 64-year-old woman from behind, violently assaulting her and forcing her to the ground around 2:25 pm on Saturday, February 25.
CCTV footage captured Wood stealthily moving through the bushes before swiftly returning to his vehicle a little over a minute after the assault.
Appearing before the Lewes Crown Court on Friday, August 18, Wood received a three-year prison sentence with an additional two years on license. This sentence followed his guilty plea to charges of intent to commit a sexual offense and non-fatal strangulation, which he admitted during a previous hearing.
The court learned that just five minutes before the attack, Wood had been making calls and sending messages to a sex worker, soliciting sexual services in exchange for money.
Less than 20 minutes after the incident, Wood was apprehended by the police, prompted by a witness who came to the woman’s aid. Law enforcement officers located his vehicle half a mile away from the scene, where they discovered cable ties and a mobile phone.
Detective Constable Abi Kelvie, from the Safeguarding Investigations team, said: “This was a terrifying attack on a woman who was walking her dog in broad daylight.
“Thanks to the victim’s incredible bravery in providing a description of this man, we quickly caught up with Wood and he was subsequently arrested and charged.
“During the investigation we then found he had been trying to engage the services of a prostitute just five minutes before the attack. This showed this was a sexually motivated attack and Wood was on the hunt for a victim.
“Thanks to the work of the investigation teams, we have been able to remove a very dangerous man from our streets and this demonstrates our determination to catch offenders and get justice for their victims.”
Extended sentences are imposed in certain types of cases where the court has found that the offender is dangerous, and an extended licence period is required to protect the public from risk of serious harm.
The judge also imposed a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO), preventing Wood from committing further sexual offences.
