FIRST PICTURE OF BLACK CAB RAPIST JOHN WORBOYS Victims step up fight to keep him in jail
BLACK cab rapist John Worboys appeared in court yesterday – and came face-to-face with victims.
Worboys, 60, was flanked by four security guards as he sat in the dock surrounded by an iron cage in Court Five at the Royal Courts of Justice in central London.
He had been driven 185 miles from his cell at Wakefield jail, in Yorkshire, after two of his victims mounted a legal challenge to block his release.
Grey-haired Worboys – who arrived in handcuffs – was ordered to attend after judges said that video link equipment in the building could not be relied upon to work properly.
It was the first time Worboys had been seen in public since he was jailed indefinitely in 2009, with a minimum term of eight years, for attacks on 12 women involving rape, assaults and drugging.
He is suspected of attacking more than 100 other women.
Yesterday Sir Brian Leveson and Mr Justice Garnham gave the goahead to challenge the Parole Board’s decision to release Worboys.
A full hearing will take place on March 13.
Harrowing
Worboys was told that he will remain in prison until that full hearing begins.
The Parole Board should also disclose a dossier outlining the reasons for his release, the judges said.
One of Worboys’ victims bringing the challenge, known only as DSD, was allegedly raped by him in 2003.
She sat near lawyers in the courtroom just yards from Worboys.
He occasionally glanced in her direction during the two hours he sat in the dock.
The rapist – who has changed his name and was referred to as John Radford – showed no emotion when he was told at the end of the hearing that he will remain in prison while the proceedings take place.
The second victim bringing the action, known only as NBV, was too upset to attend the hearing.
At least one other victim, who was not involved in the challenge, was thought to be present.
At the start of the case Sir Brian said he understood at least one of the victims was unhappy about Worboys’ presence.
He said: “I’m sorry about that but I’m sure you can explain to her why it’s not possible to conduct this hearing without him being present.”
After the hearing lawyer Harriet Wistrich, who is representing the two claimants, described the harrowing ordeal of DSD who “refused to be frightened” by her alleged attacker.
She said: “It was very, very difficult but she felt it was really necessary to be there to say she wasn’t going to be frightened of him, to confront him and to challenge his power.
“Obviously it was hard seeing him there in the flesh after all this time.
“It was very hard. She was obviously pleased that he was behind a grid and in this situation he was the powerless one. The second claimant did not come. She couldn’t face it. Generally she has found it very, very hard seeing him over the news.”
Ms Wistrich said it was “a huge relief” that the victims “do not have that anxiety of him being released before this decision has been properly scrutinised”. She added: “We’re obviously very pleased that permission has been granted to proceed and that we will be provided with the dossier.
“We are looking forward to being able to understand and scrutinise the material before the Parole Board to consider how to bring forward the challenge. It is a move forward in the right direction.”
Phillippa Kaufmann, representing the victims, told the court that Worboys “remains highly dangerous”.
She said there was a “strong case” that the Parole Board’s conclusion that he “now presents no more than a minimal risk to women is unlawful”.
Lawyers for the Parole Board and the Justice Secretary said they were not opposed to a full judicial review going ahead.