Pittsburgh man gets 80 years in prison for 4 rapes
PITTSBURGH—A Pittsburgh man convicted of being the so-called "East End rapist" has been sentenced to 80 to 160 years in prison.
At his sentencing Wednesday, 51-year-old Keith Wood said he was sorry for what happened to the victims, but said he was not the rapist.
A jury in June convicted Wood of raping four women in 2000 and 2001 in the city's East End communities. Jurors deadlocked on whe
More..ther Wood raped a fifth woman in 2007.
Prosecutors say DNA evidence overwhelmingly linked Wood as the attacker in four of the cases. They say there's only one chance in 56 quintillion the DNA belongs to someone else. There was no DNA evidence in the fifth rape.
Wood has accused police of illegally obtaining his DNA.
In the summer of 2000, a 29-year-old newly minted physician landed a prestigious family medicine residency at UPMC Shadyside and moved into a new apartment in Squirrel Hill.
A few weeks later, an intruder broke into her home in the middle of the night and raped, choked and beat her. The physician, now 37, said yesterday after years of post-traumatic stress and multiple suicide attempts, she'll never again be the independent, self-confident person she was and will never be able to dedicate herself to under-served patients with the rigor she intended.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette does not name victims of sexual assault.
The physician was one of two victims who testified yesterday at a hearing for convicted rapist Keith Wood. Following their victim impact statements, Allegheny County Judge Jeffrey A. Manning sentenced Mr. Wood, 51, of Highland Park, to 80 to 160 years in prison for four home invasion attacks eight years ago by a man dubbed "the East End rapist."
The defendant, who wore a long-sleeved T-shirt and red Allegheny County Jail pants, told the judge he was sorry for what happened to the victims, but said he was not guilty of the attacks in Shadyside, Edgewood, Squirrel Hill and Forest Hills, because his DNA was never found inside the victims. He testified during the trial that he believed police planted his DNA after the fact, although he didn't introduce any evidence to back this claim.
The judge explained Mr. Wood had a right to "continue to deny" the allegations despite incontrovertible scientific evidence but said he would deliver "a severe, harsh sentence without mercy, commensurate with what you have done."
In addition to the minimum sentence that would expire when he is 131, the judge approved him to be listed as a "sexually violent predator" should he be released on parole.
Prior to sentencing, the family physician took a seat on the witness stand, facing Mr. Wood, as she described how his actions Aug. 8, 2000 derailed her life plans.
That day she became an emergency patient in the hospital where she worked, and a colleague held her hand as she was tested for HIV, sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancy.
She became suicidal and was fired from her residency program because of all the days she missed. When she reapplied for jobs, and every time she's applied for a job since then, she's had to explain, explicitly, the reason for the gap in her medical career.
She held up her left arm to show the judge and Mr. Wood where she'd attempted to cut her wrist while on suicide watch at UPMC Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic.
She said her photographic memory is gone. She has suffered migraines since Mr. Wood hit her in the head and had permanent hearing loss and loss of concentration due to being choked by him. She has chronic urinary tract infections because he used bleach on her to try to cover up evidence after the rape.
Moving across the country did not alleviate her post-traumatic stress, chronic anxiety, hypervigilance, nightmares or chronic pain. When she learned Mr. Wood, a convicted burglar, had been arrested for the unsolved rapes in 2007, she said, she "spiralled into depression," took an overdose of medicine and attempted suicide again.
"His acts were diabolical and heinous. They've injured many women -- doctors, lawyers, teachers -- women who have also dedicated their lives to serve others," she said.
The teacher she referred to also shared an impact statement with the court. On July 9, 2000, the 24-year-old elementary school teacher awoke to find a violent intruder in her home in Edgewood. After the man raped and robbed her, she spent weeks at her parents' home lying in a fetal position. She said she also missed work and lost "precious time" due to the "staggering" aftereffects of the attack.
"It has taken eight years and a great deal of therapy to finally feel like I can have ... intimate moments again with my boyfriend," she said. She said Mr. Wood "needs to know what it's like to have precious time taken away from him."
The defendant's mother sat in the back of the room, wiping tears, during the sentencing. She later told a reporter, "The robbery I can understand, but not the rapes."
A jury convicted Mr. Wood in June on four of five home invasion rapes that occurred between 2000 and 2001. The acquittal came in the only case where investigators did not obtain DNA evidence matching the defendant.
Eight years ago, investigators began tracking a series of rapes they had linked to a common suspect. For years, no convicted sex offenders in the DNA database matched the profile.
When the law changed, to include testing of all convicted felons, Mr. Wood, a certified cosmetologist jailed for a parole violation on a burglary case, matched the "East End rapist" profile, and police arrested him.
Deputy District Attorney Janet Necessary noted yesterday that his DNA also matched DNA collected in a 1988 rape case, but the statute of limitations ran out and the district attorney couldn't charge him.
"Had it not been for DNA, these cases would not have been solved," she said. "Had the law not changed to include all felonies and sex offenses, [Mr. Wood] would not have been caught."
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