March 13, 2009
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article5894879.ece
Revealed: Taxi driver rapist John Worboys is Britain's most prolific sex attacker
Adam Fresco, Crime Correspondent
A cab driver who scoured the streets of London at night looking for vulnerable women to drug and assault is Britain's most prolific sex attacker, The Times can reveal.
John Worboys was today found guilty of 19 charges of drugging and sexually assaulting 12 female passengers. In one case he raped his victim. He was cleared of two counts of drugging women, but is thought to have attacked more than 500 women during his 13-year career as a trusted licensed taxi driver.
Worboys, dressed in a grey suit and tie, put his face in his hands and shook his head as he stood in the dock. As the guilty verdict for rape was read out he said: "Oh my God," and wiped away tears before Mr Justice Penry-Davey told him to expect a "very substantial term of imprisonment". He then looked at a friend in the public gallery and shook his head in desbelief.
The former porn actor and stripper, who performed under the name of Terry the Minder at hen parties and gay venues, was arrested by police in the summer of 2007 but was freed to attack scores more women, at least 30 while he was on bail.
Senior officers have discovered that 12 women had gone to the Metropolitan Police before Worboys was charged to complain about a black cab driver trying to drug, sexually assault or generally pester them, but their claims were never linked.
Since his arrest, 75 more women have come forward to tell police they believe that Worboys attacked them too, including four from Dorset, where he had a flat and would sometimes take his taxi.
He was charged with attacking 14 women in a 16-month period after looking for potential victims coming out of nightclubs and pubs, Croydon Crown court was told.
Johanna Cutts, QC, for the prosecution, said that his intent "was to ensure that they were completely at his mercy and then to sexually molest them".
She added: "Having each girl alone in his cab was a start but this defendant, we say, wanted to ensure that there would be no struggle, no difficultly in achieving his aim. How did he do that? He did it by drugging them."
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article5894879.ece
Revealed: Taxi driver rapist John Worboys is Britain's most prolific sex attacker
Adam Fresco, Crime Correspondent
A cab driver who scoured the streets of London at night looking for vulnerable women to drug and assault is Britain's most prolific sex attacker, The Times can reveal.
John Worboys was today found guilty of 19 charges of drugging and sexually assaulting 12 female passengers. In one case he raped his victim. He was cleared of two counts of drugging women, but is thought to have attacked more than 500 women during his 13-year career as a trusted licensed taxi driver.
Worboys, dressed in a grey suit and tie, put his face in his hands and shook his head as he stood in the dock. As the guilty verdict for rape was read out he said: "Oh my God," and wiped away tears before Mr Justice Penry-Davey told him to expect a "very substantial term of imprisonment". He then looked at a friend in the public gallery and shook his head in desbelief.
The former porn actor and stripper, who performed under the name of Terry the Minder at hen parties and gay venues, was arrested by police in the summer of 2007 but was freed to attack scores more women, at least 30 while he was on bail.
Senior officers have discovered that 12 women had gone to the Metropolitan Police before Worboys was charged to complain about a black cab driver trying to drug, sexually assault or generally pester them, but their claims were never linked.
Since his arrest, 75 more women have come forward to tell police they believe that Worboys attacked them too, including four from Dorset, where he had a flat and would sometimes take his taxi.
He was charged with attacking 14 women in a 16-month period after looking for potential victims coming out of nightclubs and pubs, Croydon Crown court was told.
Johanna Cutts, QC, for the prosecution, said that his intent "was to ensure that they were completely at his mercy and then to sexually molest them".
She added: "Having each girl alone in his cab was a start but this defendant, we say, wanted to ensure that there would be no struggle, no difficultly in achieving his aim. How did he do that? He did it by drugging them."
