A 'HIGHLY dangerous' man who approached a jogger and assaulted her on a canal path has today (Wednesday) been sentenced to two and a half years in prison.

Charles Fraser Wood, 43, of Huddersfield Road, Bradford pleaded guilty to sexual assault and exposure following the attack which took place near Kildwick on the morning of Tuesday April 9.

Wood admitted to touching the victim inappropriately whilst exposing himself and performing a sex act as the victim was running on the canal towpath, alongside Station Road, towards Kildwick.

Despite being extremely shaken by the incident, the victim bravely took a photo of Wood as he fled the scene before making her way to the main road.

It was there that she looked back and saw Wood continue to expose himself as he hid in some bushes.

Following the incident, the terrified woman approached a passing dog walker who called 999 and waited with the victim until officers arrived.

A man matching the description and photograph provided by the victim was captured on dash-cam footage submitted by a member of the public in response to a police appeal.

The footage was circulated to both North Yorkshire Police and West Yorkshire Police.

Wood was subsequently identified by a West Yorkshire Police officer responsible for monitoring and managing registered sex offenders.

Wood was arrested two days later, and several items were seized from his home including two green jackets, a pair of grey jogging bottoms, a police baton, and a flip knife (folding pocket knife) with a 3.5-inch blade. Officers also seized a pair of camo-colour Nike trainers from Wood’s car that had been wrapped in a large sheet of bedding.

The seized jackets matched the photograph taken by the victim and corresponded with what Wood was wearing in the dashcam footage. Additionally, the trainers matched both the description provided by the victim and the photograph she took, further connecting Wood to his crimes.

A spokesperson for North Yorkshire Police said: "Our enquires also showed Wood’s mobile phone in the vicinity at the time of the attack and he was also positively identified as being the man in the area at the time by a witness.

"Despite providing no comment during both interviews and initially maintaining his innocence, Wood eventually pleaded guilty to both offences."

Wood was sentenced at York Crown Court today (Wednesday) to two and a half years.

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

Following sentencing, Detective Constable Hannah Kelly from the Harrogate and Craven Criminal Investigations Department (CID), who lead on the investigation, 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.

“Our CID and Major Investigation Team in Harrogate worked tirelessly on this investigation to seek, apprehend, and prosecute Wood as soon as possible due to the serious risk he posed to women in our community.

“I would like to commend the victim in this case. Despite enduring a terrifying ordeal, she demonstrated remarkable courage by reporting the incident and supporting the investigation throughout.

"I also want to praise the passer by who called the police and stayed with the victim until we arrived. “Thankfully, attacks like these are rare in North Yorkshire.

"However, every woman deserves to feel safe in public spaces, without the need to constantly look over their shoulder or worry about who is approaching them."

"We will relentlessly pursue and bring to justice the vile perpetrators of such abhorrent behaviour.”

If you’ve been the victim of sexual assault, no matter when it happened to you, you can find out how to report it on North Yorkshire Police website: https://www.northyorkshire.police.uk/