A health charit y worker is facing jail for rapes which left his victims traumatised.
John Wood – who worked for charities helping some of Scotland’s most vulnerable people – was brought to justice after fleeing the UK for Turkey.
He raped two women after they broke up with him – one of whom found out he had had gay affairs.
Wood worked for the Scottish Association for Mental Health and homelessness charities Simon Community Scotland and Turning Point Scotland.
His first victim said he attacked her after she broke up with him while he was on holiday.
And she said he later held her hostage and raped her.
The 44-year-old said: “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.
“I was in complete shock and disbelief at what happened and Wood, at this time, was cold and dismissive towards me.
“The next time he raped me was a few days later when I returned to the flat for some things. He held me captive in the bedroom of his flat for what felt like forever but was actually maybe 45 minutes to an hour.
“I tried to fight him off but he prevented me from escaping.
“I was absolutely broken and traumatised.”
She later found out he had raped another woman, 34. She said: “This had a massive impact on my mental health.
“I had already been struggling but continued to work full-time though I had dropped out of uni in my third year due to the impact of the trauma.
"I stupidly thought, as many victims of sexual violence do, that it was only me who had been assaulted.”
His other victim was also his girlfriend. He first raped her early in their relationship.
His first victim said: “He also raped her at some point during this initial period of meeting.
“She was manipulated and coerced in the relationship and after he initially raped her in Glasgow he raped her a further two times in England.
“One day, she looked on his phone and laptop and found umpteen messages from men and women, mostly men, with details of times they had met in hotels and in her home for sex.
“When she confronted him about this, the relationship ended. It was during this time he raped her for the last time.”
At the High Court in Glasgow last month, Wood was convicted of raping his first victim and attempting to rape her at a flat in Glasgow’s Dowanhill.
He was convicted of raping his second victim at the same flat a month later and will be sentenced today.
Kenneth Crawford, director of finance and resources at Turning Point Scotland said Wood “was employed by us for a short time before the incidents took place. At the time of employment, we can verify that all mandatory checks were carried out”.
Billy Watson, chief executive at SAMH, said Wood was “employed by SAMH for two months” to May 15, 2015, but “did not complete his probation and was dismissed after being found to have breached confidentiality.”
Simon Community Scotland was approached for comment.
Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - Sign up to our daily newsletter here.
