BBC NEWS – A London taxi driver jailed indefinitely for drugging and sexually assaulting female passengers in his black cab is launching an appeal against his sentence.
John Worboys, 51, from Rotherhithe, London, was jailed in 2009. Croydon Crown Court found him guilty of one rape, five sexual assaults, one attempted assault and 12 drugging charges between 2007 and 2008. The former stripper starts his bid at the Court of Appeal on Tuesday.
Worboys picked up his lone victims in London’s West End and gave them champagne, claiming he had won large amounts of money on the lottery or at casinos. But the drinks were mixed with sedatives and his victims were unable to prevent him assaulting them.
‘Rape kit’
Many women were left with little memory of their ordeals and could only recall falling asleep in the back of the vehicle before waking up at home. Police discovered what they described as a “rape kit” – including gloves, alcohol, glasses, drugs and condoms – concealed in a plastic bag in another vehicle at his home.
A pre-sentence report described Worboys as a “repetitive predatory sexual offender” who showed a “significant degree of sexual deviance”. His barrister, Jeremy Gold QC, said Worboys was an “inadequate individual” who was not diagnosed with any mental disorder but who struggled to have successful relationships with women.
Linked to attacks
Under his current sentence, Worboys will not be released until a parole board decides he is no longer a threat to women. Following his conviction, police said he could be linked to 85 attacks in the London and Dorset areas dating back to 2002. During his trial it emerged that police in Plumstead, south east London, arrested Worboys in July 2007 over an attack on a 19-year-old student.
But he was released on bail and went on to commit the 14 offences for which he was convicted.
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