Louis Woods

University Graduate Convicted of Sexual Assault Avoids Immediate Custody

On 18 March 2019, Louis Woods, then a 28-year-old university graduate from Wandsworth, southwest London, sexually assaulted a woman outside the Birkbeck University Bar in Bloomsbury, central London. The incident occurred in the bar's smoking area after the victim, who had consumed a significant amount of alcohol on an empty stomach, felt ill and stepped outside for air. Woods followed her and took advantage of her intoxicated and semi-conscious state, committing two counts of assault by penetration.

The victim had drunk one pint of Guinness, two shots of rum, a Jäger shot, and two double vodka lemonades before the assault. In her police interview, she described blacking out and being largely unconscious during the ordeal, stating: 'I don’t recall how I got outside, I just know I felt ill. Most of the time I was unconscious, flipping between passing out a little bit. Throughout the time I was there I was laying on him and he would motion for me to lay back down on him again.' She recalled Woods kissing the back of her head and shoulder, calling her 'sweety' and inviting her home with him, before the intimate assaults took place. Feeling shocked but hesitant to make a scene at the time, she later reflected: 'Once I woke up sober, I was able to think about it more clearly, this wasn’t right. I felt violated.'

Following the incident, the woman sent messages to her boyfriend describing her drunken state and the assault, writing: 'I think I’m quite drunk' and later, 'He took advantage of my drunkenness... It looked like he was molesting me and I guess he was?' Woods denied the charges, claiming the interactions were consensual and that he had built a 'beautiful friendship' with her earlier that evening. He told the court: 'Everything we did that night was consensual. She didn’t give me verbal consent but I did ask her if she was ok and from her mannerisms and how she had been during the day, at the bar we were holding hands. A lot of little things led up to me thinking that something was going to happen and that I had consent to do it.' The prosecutor, Liam Gregory, challenged Woods on the lack of explicit consent, noting the victim's descriptions of him as 'creepy' and 'pervy', to which Woods replied he had 'no idea why she would say that.'

After a jury trial at Wood Green Crown Court, Woods was convicted on 2 February 2023 of two counts of assault by penetration. Prosecutor Liam Gregory had told the jury: 'She did not consent to a sexual act... Mr Woods could not reasonably believe there was consent when he carried out this act.' Despite the conviction, Woods avoided immediate jail time and was sentenced to two years' imprisonment, suspended for two years. He was also ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid work and 40 days of rehabilitation activity, and must remain on the Sex Offenders’ Register for 10 years. The case highlights issues of consent and the vulnerability of intoxicated individuals in social settings, as reported by the Daily Mail on 2 February 2023.