Conviction
In April 1996, Wood pleaded guilty to "crimes against nature" (viz. fellatio) and "taking indecent liberties with a minor", on more than one-hundred and thirty occasions. From 1996-1998, he spent 26 months in the North Carolina penal system as a result of his conviction. He is not on any national or regional register of sex offenders and has spoken publicly about his incarceration and the charges that led to it.
Some have used Wood’s incarceration as a means of attacking Wood rather than addressing the content of his writing and work. The geographer Jane Jacobs has wondered in press whether Wood’s arrest and incarceration may be one reason why some of his work receives less attention than it deserves. Despite the conviction, his writing and work continued and since his release he has continued to live in Raleigh, NC, while lecturing and working internationally in his field. For example, in 2008 he presented a plenary at the Royal Geographical Society in London.
In a 1998 interview with the News and Observer, Wood announced plans for a book based on his prison experience. It was described as planned for publication by the Johns Hopkins University Press. The book is currently scheduled for publication by The Center for American Places, distributed by University of Chicago Press. Wood offered a presentation with the same title at the 2003 annual meeting of the American Public Health Association.
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