Here, the police reveal a step-by-step account of how they caught horse rapist Derek Woods.
• ‘Softly spoken’ Derek Woods was not in a stable relationship, when he set his sights on sexually assaulting an aged horse – the police have revealed.
• Woods, from Alphington in Exeter, began his catalogue of animal cruelty on December 18, 2009, when he was found asleep in Maggie Hunt’s mare’s stable.
• The horse owners suspicions were raised when she found buckets in and out of the stable had been moved and her elderly mare, Amber, had been injured.
• Dummy cameras and alarms were installed to catch the culprit, but without success.
• Some two months later, on February 4 2010, still convinced the offender was visiting the horse, Maggie noticed fluid on Amber’s leg. Testing showed it to be human semen.
• DNA was obtained but there was no information on the police data base.
• A lack of power at the remote stable made police tactics to catch the offender problematic.
• The police technical support unit was drafted to set up covert cameras in Amber’s stable after Maggie Hunt contacted officers on July 5, 2010, reporting further injuries to her horse.
• At around 11pm on August 9, 2010, the alarm in Amber’s stable was activated. Police found Woods at the scene and arrested him.
• CCTV footage captured on that night shows Woods assaulting one horse before attempting the same act on a horse in a neighbouring stable.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here