PANAMA CITY — A Fountain man has been sentenced 15 years in prison and will have to live with the designation as a “sexual predator” for life following a circuit judge’s decision Monday.
Joseph Gable Wood Sr., 66, was sentenced Monday to 15 years in prison on charges of lewd or lascivious battery on a 13-year-old girl, according to court documents. Wood will face 15 years of probation following the prison time.
Assistant State Attorney Megan Ford told jurors during the trial that Wood’s wife found him engaged in a sex act with a 13-year-old girl on Nov. 2, 2013. The girl told authorities that Wood had been molesting her for several years.
Wood was found guilty as charged of lewd or lascivious battery and lewd or lascivious conduct. He faced up to 30 years in prison, according to the State Attorney’s Office.