'Black cab rapist' John Worboys to stay in prison

  • Published
John WorboysImage source, Metropolitan Police
Image caption,
John Worboys was jailed in 2009 for a string of sex attacks on women in his taxi

The "black cab rapist" John Worboys must stay in prison, the Parole Board has ruled.

Worboys who is now known as John Radford, was jailed in 2009 for assaults on 12 women in London.

Among reasons given for refusing the 61-year-old parole were his "sense of sexual entitlement" and a need to control women.

In January the Parole Board said he would be freed after serving 10 years, but victims challenged the decision.

The High Court overturned the board's original ruling and sided with the legal challenge.

The BBC has seen a summary of the reasons why the Parole Board has now refused to release Worboys, which include "risk factors" such as Worboys' "sexual preoccupation, a sense of sexual entitlement and a belief that rape is acceptable".

Image source, Metropolitan Police
Image caption,
The black cab used by Worboys in his attacks

At his trial at Croydon Crown Court in 2009, jurors were told Worboys picked up his victims in London's West End.

The court heard Worboys claimed he had won the lottery or had won money at casinos and offered his victims a glass of celebratory champagne laced with sedatives.

Media caption,

Victim: 'The police assumed I was some drunk'

Worboys was convicted of 19 offences including one count of rape, five sexual assaults, one attempted assault and 12 drugging charges.

As well as being ordered to serve at least eight years, Worboys was given an indeterminate sentence, meaning he could be kept in prison as for as long as he was deemed to remain a danger to the public.

Police believe Worboys may have carried out more than 100 rapes and sexual assaults on women in London between 2002 and 2008.

Image source, Metropolitan Police
Image caption,
Police found a "rape kit" with contraceptives and drugs in Worboys' cab

Among the documents considered by the panel were a 1,255 page dossier on Worboys and personal statements from seven victims.

It concluded: "After considering the circumstances of offending, the progress made while in custody, and the evidence presented within the dossier, the panel was not satisfied that Mr Worboys was suitable for release or progression to the open estate."

The Parole Board said under current legislation Worboys will be eligible for a further review "within two years", but this would be at a date set by the Ministry of Justice.

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