A jury found a Saugus man guilty Thursday of committing rape by use of a drug.
Brady John Wood, 21, was found guilty the same day lawyers presented their closing arguments in the case at the Michael Antonovich Antelope Valley Courthouse in Lancaster.
“We just got the verdict — guilty,” Deputy District Attorney Emily Cole, who prosecuted the case, said shortly before 4:30 p.m. Thursday.
Jurors also found the allegation true, she said, that Wood administered the drug to the victim.
Within minutes of the jury’s verdict being announced, Cole was on the phone with the victim, Cole said.
The victim testified Wednesday.
The victim’s mother said outside of court Wednesday that she would be happy to see a verdict delivered before the weekend. Late Thursday afternoon, she got her wish.
“It’s very sad,” she said upon learning the verdict.
“I think about — what if it were my son?” she said. “We raise our children to grow up with a positive view of things and to do the right thing.”
“She’s of course relieved,” she said about her daughter.
“We’re back in court Nov. 15,” she said, referring to the chance of giving a victim impact statement before Wood is sentenced.
She said her daughter has yet to decide if she’s going to give such a statement.
The victim and her attacker had known each other for about a year, she said.
“They were friends. She had a boyfriend, he had a girlfriend. Never in a million years would we think this would happen,” she said, referring to the planned use of a drug on her daughter.
“When they (investigators) asked why she (the victim) waited two days to come forward, she said it was because his dad was a cop.”
Wood’s father worked as a deputy for the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station. He has since retired, Shirley Miller, spokeswoman for the SCV Sheriff’s Station, said Thursday.
“That’s why they moved the case to Lancaster,” the victim’s mother said. “To get a fair trial.”
Wood was initially scheduled to appear in San Fernando Superior Court but the case was transferred to Lancaster.
He was arrested on the evening of Aug. 21, 2017, about 7:45 p.m., by deputies of the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station.
Sgt. Brian Hudson of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Special Victims Bureau, at the time of the arrest, said: “This was a date rape scenario at a private residence in June.”
Wood had been under investigation at least two months prior to his arrest, Hudson said at the time.
Wood – described by arresting deputies as having blond hair and blue eyes – was taken into custody with bail set at $100,000.
Within three hours of his arrest, Brady posted bail and was released from custody.
He was scheduled to begin classes at College of the Canyons that fall.
COC spokesman Eric Harnish confirmed in August 2017 that “Brady Wood is enrolled as a student for the fall 2017 semester.”
“The college, as a matter of policy, issues advisories to students and employees when a violent crime is reported to have taken place on campus and there is reason to believe there could still be a danger to the campus community,” Harnish said a year ago.
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