CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WVDN) – West Virginia Attorney General JB McCuskey’s office is announcing a convicted sex offender will be returned to prison following a victory at the Fourth Circuit.
In 2021, Keith Allen Wood was convicted in Brooke County Circuit Court on multiple counts of sexual offenses against a seven-year-old girl. Wood was sentenced to two terms of 25 to 100 years in prison, plus two terms of 10 to 20 years, all to run consecutively.
Prior to his conviction, there was a mistrial in the case due to opening statements by his defense counsel that referenced evidence that had been excluded during pretrial rulings. Wood claimed his re-trial violated the double jeopardy clause. He appealed to the West Virginia Supreme Court both before and after his conviction, the Attorney General’s Criminal Appellate Division won at the Supreme Court both times – allowing for a re-trial and then upholding the conviction.
However, in 2024, Wood petitioned a federal district court for his release, and a federal judge ordered that the convicted sex offender be set free.
The West Virginia Attorney General’s Office appealed to the Fourth Circuit, arguing the state court correctly ruled that the retrial did not constitute double jeopardy, and that federal review of state-court judgments is limited. Last week, July 17th, the Fourth Circuit unanimously agreed with the State, reversing the district court’s judgement.
This week, Wood tried one last time to avoid a return to prison, but the Attorney General’s Office won in both circuit and district courts to have Wood returned to custody immediately. He will report tomorrow, July 24th.
“Wood will soon be back where he belongs, behind bars, where he can no longer harm children. For years, he has tried to avoid accountability for his heinous acts against an innocent young girl and today, we have finally put this case to rest. I am thankful for my team who have fought tirelessly for years to hold this predator accountable. My hope is the victim will finally experience actual justice.” Attorney General McCuskey said.
Here is the Fourth Circuit’s opinion.
