Who is John Worboys and where is the Black Cab Rapist now?

SERIAL sex attacker John Worboys was convicted in 2009 for attacks on 12 women – with police believing he may have committed sexual assaults on over 100 women.

We take a closer look at one of Britain’s worst serial sex attackers and what crimes he has committed.

Who is John Worboys?

Worboys was born in June, 1957, and had several jobs after school such as a milkman and a security guard.

He is from Rotherhithe in South London, and used to work as a black taxi driver

From 1987 until 2000 he worked as a stripper, going by the name Terry the Minder, and also directed a porn film.

He became a taxi driver after seeing it as an opportunity to prey on vulnerable women.

In 1991 he married Kate Santos. The pair separated after eight years.

Due to sleeping difficulties, Worboys was able to stockpile prescription pills which he used as a date rape drug.

What was John Worboys convicted of?

Worboys was convicted of crimes against 12 women, although many more came forward to police.

The rapist used the same method to prey on almost every victim.

He would pick up women late at night and pretend he had won large amounts of money before plying them with champagne as part of supposed celebrations.

The 62-year-old, who now goes by the name John Derek Radford, used a “stupefying or overpowering drug” on women who had hailed his taxi.

The first victim was picked up in Worboys’ taxi after leaving a bar.

All the women made their allegations to police in early 2018, but the offences dated back to between 2000 and 2008 in London.

At his first trial at Croydon Crown Court in 2009, jurors were told Worboys picked up his victims in London’s West End and plied them with champagne laced with sedatives on the pretext of celebrating a lottery or casino win.

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

The vile attacker drugged the champagne and then sexually assaulted his victims — who were often left with little recollection of what had happened.

At his 2009 trial at Croydon crown court, Worboys was found guilty of one rape, five sexual assaults and an attempted assault, and 12 counts of administering a drug.

How long was John Worboys sentenced to prison for?

He was jailed indefinitely – an indeterminate sentence for public protection – with a minimum term behind bars of eight years.

He was found guilty of 19 offences involving attacks on 12 women, the earliest in 2000.

Police believe Warboys committed 105 sexual offences against women.

The judge, Mr Justice Penry-Davey, said he could be in jail much longer and should not be freed until the Parole Board were sure he was no longer a danger to women.

On May 1, 2019, Worboys was charged with four further sexual offences alleged to have occurred between 2000 and 2008 following a review of evidence by the Crown Prosecution Service.

In June 2019 he admitted the attacks on four women.

On December 17, 2019, Worboys was sentenced to two life sentences with a minimum term of six years for attacking the four women.

Where is John Worboys now?

In February 2021, Worboys lost a Court of Appeal challenge against his life sentence for spiking the drinks of four women.

The 63-year-old had mounted the challenge to his two life terms but was knocked back.

Announcing the decision Lord Chief Justice, Baron Burnett of Maldon, said: “This applicant is now known as John Radford but was formerly known as John Worboys and as such became notorious as the black cab rapist.

“For reasons I will go into, this application for permission to appeal against sentence is refused.”