John Worboys victim says she was asked about lipstick colour while rapist was 'fed defence'

May 04, 2023

A survivor of the twisted Black Cab Rapist says police officers questioned her choice of lipstick and nail varnish while asking about her drinking habits which left her feeling she 'deserved it'

Black Cab Rapist John Worboys remains locked behind bars - but his victims still have to live with the sickening ordeals they were put through.

The depraved predator subjected the women he preyed on to the same well-practised routine, claiming he had won big on the lottery or at a casino then offering them a glass of champagne to celebrate.

The alcohol would contain sedatives and Worboys was convicted of sexually assaulting some of the female passengers he drugged.

One of the Black Cab Rapist's victims has spoken for the first time about her horrifying experience and how the way she was treated by the police left her feeling she "deserved it".

Known only as 'NBV' for legal reasons, the survivor tells tonight's new Channel 5 documentary, Predator: Catching the Black Cab Rapist, that even her husband doesn't know what happened to her.

NBV, who was a 19-year-old student at the time, says Metropolitan Police officers questioned her drinking habits and asked about her choice of lipstick and nail varnish in a "humiliating experience".

"They started off asking a lot of questions about myself," explains NBV, who reported the attack to her university before going to the police in July 2007.

"They had observed that I had nail polish on which was red. They asked me whether I’d describe myself as a young lady who would wear red nail polish and red lipstick.

"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."

NBV was picked up after a night out and offered a spike drink in the same manner as most of Worboys' victims, but she initially refused.

However, when Worboys started become agitated she had a sip to appease him so he would take her home.

As she started to become drowsy due to the effects of the drugs, Worboys stopped the taxi and got in the back to force a pill down her throat.

Using CCTV footage, the police managed to track down Worboys to his home in Rotherhithe, south London, but when he wasn't in they left a note.

The police would later arrest Worboys, but failings during his interview meant he was let go and continued attacking more women until he was finally caught more than six months later.

Audio from his first police interview in 2007 is heard in the documentary for the first time as only transcripts were read out in court.

"Hearing his voice is incredibly traumatic. It takes me back to being in his cab," says NBV, who is "extremely appalled" to hear how police officers questioned her attacker.

A female officer apologises to Worboys for asking a question, then even appears to 'feed him a possible line of defence'.

In the interview recording, the female officer says: "Forgive me for asking, but I’ve got to ask, because obviously we’ve got to investigate this matter.

"Is it a case of that she engaged in sexual activity with you to pay for her fare?", to which he replies: "Not at all."

Then when the interviewer asks: "Did she offer to pay you in a sexual way?", Worboys denies the claim.

Speaking in the documentary, NBV's lawyer, Phillippa Kaufmann QC, says: "It's not his account, he is not even saying what happened.

"She [the police officer] is feeding him a defence, if sexual activity took place it was on the basis that NBV was prostituting herself and not paying the fare.

"If they had actually done some work they would have realised she did pay the fare. It makes it plain that they just didn't believe a word of it on her part.

"This officer failed to question him on any of the multiple discrepancies between his account and the CCTV footage they had. They failed to follow up numerous other steps, for example, the timeline. Find out what time she left that club and got in a cab."

Worboys was released without charge and went on to attack many more women before he was arrested again in February 2008.

In a statement to Channel 5, the Metropolitan Police said: "The Metropolitan Police Service is committed to providing the best possible service to victims of rape and sexual offences, and ensuring that they are at the heart of every investigation.

"Victims should always be treated with respect and dignity by officers, and have confidence that officers will make every effort to investigate serious allegations and bring offenders to justice.

"The Met has previously apologised for the serious failings in the investigation of rapes committed by John Worboys, and the distress that these have caused survivors."

What makes this even more disturbing is that it was later discovered that Worboys had kept a diary detailing his attack on NBV.

He also wrote down excuses in question and answer form as a rehearsal in case he was ever taken in for questioning by police.

In extracts heard in the documentary for the first time about his attack on NBV, Worboys writes: "Police must have faith in me to let me carry on working. She kept flashing and rubbing her t*ts. She wanted to sh** and f*** me.

"Most men would have got hold of her and done worse things or just chucked her on the ground.

"How could I be responsible for her actions?… If I sexually assaulted her my DNA would be down below."

In another extract, he wrote: "I don't find drunk women attractive. Only like girls 40+… I find it pervy, young girls and older men… All I want to do is get women home safely… It's because I’m too nice and caring."

Professor Aisha K. Gill, an expert criminologist at the University of Roehampton, analysed the disturbing contents of the diary.

"For him, when she gets into the cab, that's a green light. That's consent," she said.

"He has a very disturbing Machiavellian script that's very well rehearsed. He's covered all angles to lure, to violate and to abuse."

Three reports of attacks from December 2007 to February 2008 convinced police they were dealing with a serial rapist and Worboys was arrested when a staff member at a sexual assault clinic remembered one of the cases.

Fourteen brave women, including Boris Johnson's fiance Carrie Symonds, testified against Worboys, who pleaded not guilty to all 23 counts brought against him.

In March 2009 at Croydon Crown Court, Worboys was convicted of one count of rape, five sexual assaults, one attempted assault and 12 drugging charges from July 2007 to February 2008. He was cleared of two counts of drugging.

Worboys received an indeterminate sentence of imprisonment for public protection with the minimum custodial sentence set at eight years.

Then in December 2019 he was jailed for life with a minimum term of six years at the Old Bailey after he admitted spiking the drinks of four women.

Last month he lost a Court of Appeal challenge against his sentence.

*Predator: Catching The Black Cab Rapist airs tonight on Channel 5 at 9pm

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