The black-cab rapist John Worboys has been denied parole for the second time, the Parole Board confirmed on Thursday. The board decided against releasing the 68-year-old or allowing him to move to open prison conditions, where offenders are held under minimal security and can work in the community.
Worboys was convicted in 2009 for drugging and assaulting women in his taxi. He was found guilty of sex offences against 16 women, but police believe he may have had more than 100 victims. The Parole Board indicated that his next hearing could take place in one to two years, depending on a Ministry of Justice decision and the offender's progress.
One victim, known as Sarah, expressed relief: “Thank goodness the right decision has been made and the Parole Board have recognised what a danger he is. We can all sleep lighter knowing he is still behind bars.” Carrie Johnson, wife of former prime minister Boris Johnson, who testified against Worboys after taking a spiked drink, said: “It has been a hugely anxious wait knowing that Worboys was up for parole again. The relief I feel knowing that he will remain behind bars is hard to put into words.”
Worboys would claim to have won the lottery or betting on horses, showing victims a bag of cash and offering them drugged champagne. In 2018, the Parole Board initially decided he could be freed, but this was reversed after a legal challenge. A subsequent probation report in August 2019 found he was “potentially just as dangerous now as at the point of the first sentence”.
In 2019, four more victims came forward, and Worboys received two life sentences with a minimum term of six years. The case has also been highlighted in a new ITV drama, Believe Me, focusing on Sarah's story and police failures. In 2018, the Supreme Court ruled that the Metropolitan Police owed human rights damages to two victims after failing to arrest Worboys in 2003 and 2007, allowing him to assault up to 100 more women.
