A PIRBRIGHT father has been jailed for nearly five-and-a-half years after sexually assaulting a woman in Woking town centre.

Mark Scully, 37, of Gole Road, was sentenced at Guildford Crown Court today (Friday) after being found guilty on one count of sexual assault by penetration at a previous hearing on March 22.

Eight men and four women found the civil servant guilty of the attack on a 30-year-old woman, which happened in a wooded copse near Green Hayes Place at around 12.30am on July 27, 2012.

Scully was on a train travelling from London Waterloo when he approached the victim, who was a passenger, and offered to help her home after she missed her station.

He claimed to want to help her by getting her a taxi.

The victim and offender got off the train at Woking station and Scully led the woman to the scene of the crime where he sexually assaulted her, causing facial and neck injuries.

Detective Constable Tim Budd of the Surrey Police Sexual Offences Investigation Team said: "The outcome today demonstrates the defendant has been identified as a predatory sexual offender. His premeditated actions are those of a nightmare which became a reality for this victim and instead of being the knight in shining armour Scully had portrayed himself as, his actions were those of a violent offender.

"He has shown no remorse throughout the trial and his demeanour before the court has demonstrated his lack of humanity.

"This has been a lengthy, indepth investigation involving many officers including specialists trained to work with victims of sexual offences, CID officers, members of the Safer Neighbourhood Team and colleagues from British Transport Police. I hope that today's outcome will go some way to providing the victim with the strength to pick up the pieces of her life and put this traumatic experience aside.

"She is to be congratulated on her courage and fortitude in the manner in which she has supported the police investigation and I would encourage any alleged victim to come forward and report any similar incidents. Surrey Police treats all allegations of rape and sexual assault extremely seriously.

"Our priority is victim care and people need to feel confident that if they come forward and report an offence we can help. We have a dedicated investigation team for such crime and the dedicated unit works to obtain best evidence. We also work closely with our partner agencies including the NHS with whom Surrey Police has a Sexual Assault Referral Centre.”