John Worboys: Who is the Black Cab Rapist, how many victims did he attack, chilling rape kit, and how he was caught
A new ITV series has dramatised his disturbing crimes
John Worboys – also known as the Black Cab Rapist – is Britain’s most prolific serial rapist of women, committing over 100 sexual assaults on victims over a period of eight years.
The predator, now 68, preyed on women who looked vulnerable, often those leaving bars or clubs late at night. He coerced them into having a ‘celebratory’ drink with him, pretending he’d won some money on the lottery or in a casino.
His victims were at his mercy once they were in his black cab. He offered them Champagne which, unbeknownst to them, he had previously spiked. They’d later wake up having been raped – but with little recollection of the events.
Here’s everything you need to know about the Black Cab Rapist John Worboys as a new dramatisation Believe Me lands on ITV.
Who is John Worboys, better known as the Black Cab rapist?
John Worboys was a taxi driver operating in and around London. The police called him the Black Cab Rapist. He later changed his name to John Derek Radford while in prison.
Born in Enfield, Middlesex, he left school with few qualifications. He worked as a milkman, junior dairy manager, and security guard before eventually training to become a cab driver. From 1987 to 2000, he also worked as a stripper, and appeared in a pornographic film, using “Terry the Minder” as a pseudonym.
He lived alone in Rotherhithe, South London, until his marriage to Kate Santos in 1991. John also owned a flat in Poole, Dorset, which he hired out for pornographic films.
John Worboys worked as a taxi driver in Bournemouth while living at his holiday flat in Poole.
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What crimes did John Worboys commit?
John Worboys drugged, raped and sexually assaulted dozens of victims in the back of his licensed black cab. His crimes took place between 2000 and 2008.
His campaign of terror against women led to his sinister nickname the Black Cab Rapist. Police believe he attacked more than 100 victims, possibly even up to 500.
The taxi driver picked up women late at night in central London, sometimes offering them ‘lifts’ for free. He would tell the women he was celebrating after winning some money and then ask them to have a glass of Champagne with him.
Unbeknownst to his victims, John had drugged the drink with sedatives. John raped or sexually assaulted his victims after the drugs had taken effect.
Was Carrie Symonds one of John Worboys’ victims?
Carrie Symonds was one of the 14 women who testified against John Worboys at his trial. Now wife of former UK PM Boris Johnson, she had climbed into John’s cab when she was age 19 in July 2007.
Then a first year student at Warwick University, she had been waiting at a bus stop after a night out in Fulham when he pulled up on the King’s Road.
Carrie only had £5 on her when he pulled up, but he appeared to take pity on her and offered to accept that as payment because he was travelling in the same direction as her.
John Worboys then subjected her to his well-practised routine of plying her with alcohol. Carrie sensed danger and poured the Champagne on the floor of his cab without having a sip.
John propositioned Carrie to perform a sex act on him, before joining her in the back of the cab where he pressured her to down a shot of vodka. Although he did manage to drug her, she does not believe she was raped.
Speaking to The Telegraph in March 2009, Carrie Symonds said: “I felt indebted to him because he had given me a cheap lift home. But when I got the glass I secretly poured it on to the floor as I was worried it might be spiked.”
After John offered her the vodka, Symonds said: “I downed it, which was stupid, as I just wanted to get home. From that point on I can’t really remember what happened. He seemed to be this sad man who had no one to celebrate with him. I pitied him; I didn’t feel frightened – I just thought he was weird.”
How did police catch the Black Cab rapist John Worboys?
Police finally arrested John Worboys in 2008. From 2002 to his arrest, 14 women between 18 and 34 years of age reported a serious sexual assault in a black cab to the police. The police failed to link them. Worse of all, they had attempted to blame the victims for their lifestyle choices – including drinking, taking drugs, and wearing red nail varnish.
However, after several allegations of assault in 2007 and 2008, the police finally became convinced they were dealing with a serial rapist. They made a public appeal and a member of staff at a sexual assault referral unit linked the attacks to John Worboys.
Police had previously arrested him for the sexual assault of a 19-year-old student in July 2007. They questioned him at Plumstead station. But subsequently released him on bail after believing his protests that she had been drunk and kissed him as she left his cab.
What was in John Worboys’ rape kit?
Police officers finally arrested John Worboys at his house in Rotherhithe in 2008. Police found a “rape kit” in the boot of his ‘other car’, a Fiat Punto.
The rape kit included Champagne, sleeping tablets, a torch, vibrators, gloves and condoms. He also kept an ashtray to crush the drugs into the drinks of his potential victims.
Police recovered John Worboys’ DNA from a semen stain in one woman’s underwear. A wristband belonging to another woman was found in his house. A third victim’s address was found in his notebook.
Meanwhile, forensic evidence linked a vibrator found in his car to another victim.
Black Cab rapist John Worboys’ sentencing
During the trial, John Worboys pleaded not guilty to all 23 counts brought against him. He insisted the sex was consensual. Nevertheless, a jury found him guilty as a result of glaring evidence – including witness testimony from 14 victims.
The judge convicted him at Croydon Crown Court on March 13 2009 for attacks on 12 women – one count of rape, five sexual assaults, one attempted assault and 12 drugging charges.
However, police believe he may have had more than 100 victims, maybe even up to 500. In April 21 2009, a judge sentenced John Worboys to a lengthy prison sentence. He received an indeterminate sentence of imprisonment for public protection with the minimum custodial term set at eight years.
Mr Justice Penry-Davey said he should not be released until the Parole Board decided he no longer presented a threat to women. He is currently still in jail, and goes by the name of John Radford.
He also lost a Court of Appeal challenge against his sentence in February 2021. However he is approaching the date of another appeal.
Did he ever admit his guilt?
Yes, John Worboys, now known as John Radford, did eventually admit to some of his crimes – but not until years after his initial conviction. And when it meant he could reduce his sentence.
In June 2019, following a public outcry over a now-overturned decision to release him, Worboys subsequently pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey to four additional, separate charges of administering a stupefying or overpowering drug with intent to commit rape or indecent assault.
These charges related to four new victims whose allegations dated back to 2000 to 2008. Following these admissions in 2019, he was sentenced to a further life sentence.
Black Cab rapist John Worboys appeal
On January 4 2018, the BBC reported that John Worboys was to be released from prison. The Parole Board had decided to approve his release with “stringent” licence conditions after a hearing about his case in November 2017.
He would have to report to probation staff every week and was barred from contacting any of his victims. John Worboys’ period on licence would last for at least 10 years and he could be sent back to jail if he breached any licence conditions.
However, a successful legal challenge quashed the decision to release Worboys. In November 2018, it was announced he would remain in prison. For now.
Will John Worboys ever be released?
Harriet Wistrich, Solicitor and Director Centre for Women’s Justice, says the earliest the convicted sex offender can apply for parole was 2025.
She explained: “The date of 2025 is when he can apply for parole. It is then a matter for the parole board to assess whether he remains a risk.
“I know the women I represented and others who were his victims consider he is a very dangerous man and I am not sure anything would convince them that he no longer poses a risk to women.
“The extent of his offending and his ability to manipulate others combine to suggest that he will remain a risk to women moving forward.
“As he has been given a life sentence, if he is ever released he will be subject to license conditions and can potentially be recalled to prison at any time if risk factors were to increase following release.”
Harriet represented two of Worboys’ anonymous victims and helped fight the parole board’s decision to release him early.
The Parole Board granted the application for a public hearing in the case of John Worboys which was due to be held on 9 and 10 June 2026. However, the oral hearing has now been cancelled, and the parole review will be concluded on the papers.
Did Black Cab rapist John Worboys have a family?
John married Jean Clayton in 1991, but they separated after four years amid claims he had spied on his wife’s teenage daughters. She also claims he sexually assaulted her daughter.
Jean Clayton claims he confessed to following home and assaulting another woman. He was in a new relationship at the time of his arrest in 2008.
Girlfriend Kathy Martin attended every day of his trial. Kathy eventually dumped the taxi driver after she became “100 per cent” certain that he was guilty of the assaults.
John Worboys survivor Becki Houlston appeared in a C5 documentary about his crimes (Credit: Channel 5)
Have any of John Worboys’ victims spoken out?
Susanna Reid has interviewed victims of the Black Cab Rapist John Worboys in ITV’s John Worboys: The Taxi Cab Rapist.
The GMB host said at the time: “The most striking thing for me was talking to a woman who personally feels guilty. Because if only she had been taken seriously and police had investigated her case, all those other women wouldn’t have been attacked.”
One victim, identified as ‘Fiona’, was in tears as she told how she felt she could have done more after police failed to take her seriously.
She said: “I just want to put it right. Not because I did anything wrong. But for my own sanity I need to put it right.”
Susanna reassured her: “But John Worboys assaulted all these women. It is not your fault.”
John Worboys’ victim NBV criticised police for their actions
In the Channel 5 documentary Predator: Catching the Black Cab Rapist, one of John Worboys’ victims claimed the police grilled her over her choice of red nail varnish.
The woman, known by NBV for legal reasons, said the Met Police also asked about her drinking habits and lipstick choice. NBV helped catch John Worboys.
John Worboys drove her home from a London nightclub, before subsequently attacking her. She has said that the police interview “was a humiliating experience”. She revealed: “They started off asking a lot of questions about myself. They had observed that I had nail polish on which was red. Officers asked me whether I’d describe myself as a young lady who would wear red nail polish and red lipstick. Then they asked me how often I would go out drinking and they asked me how much I had drank that night. The way they behaved made me feel like anything that had happened to me was because I deserved it.”
Victim Becki Houlston says she wants John Worboys to ‘die’ in prison
One of Black Cab Rapist John Worboys’ victims has said she wants him to die in prison. Becki Houlston is convinced she was among the first to fall prey to the sexual predator. She says he persuaded her to drink champagne spiked with a sedative in the back of his cab.
Becki does not believe Worboys sexually assaulted her, but she still suffers from flashbacks and anxiety knowing she came face to face with the evil rapist. Becki, Bournemouth, Dorset, told the Mail Online: “I want to see him die in prison. This man should never be allowed out. He has shown no remorse and is the worst predator imaginable and I can’t see how anyone would see he is fit for release.”
Becki was in her mid-20s when she left a Bournemouth bar in 2002 after a night out with friends. She has subsequently suffered flashbacks and developed anxiety about going in taxis.
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