John Worboys, the black cabbie who assaulted a string of young women from Putney, Fulham and other areas across south and west london has been jailed indefinitely.

Worboys, 51, received an indeterminate sentence for public protection, and will serve a minimum of eight years. He was sentenced at Croydon Crown Court after being found guilty of rape and 18 other charges of drugging and sexually assulting women in the back of his cab.

The court heard that he targeted professional women walking alone in Central London. He told female passengers he had won the lottery and offered them champagne spiked with a mixture of drugs before assaulting them in the back seat of the cab.

Sentencing him, Justice Penry-Davey said that Worboys will not be released until a parole board decides he is no longer a threat to women.

He added: " Armed with your plausible but lying story you set out on a campaign of sexual assault choosing those who had been drinking alcohol and who were concerned about getting home safely and were careful to use a black cab.

" It is the courage of those victims in coming forward and giving evidence that has brought about the end of those activities."

The judge ordered proceeds from the sale of Worboys' taxi and his house in Rotherhithe, rumoured to be worth £1 million, should be split between the victims, along with the £3,680 police found on his bed when they arrested him.

The Crown Prosecution Service is investigating another 11 cases which have come to light since his trial, and police believe many other victims may not remember or are too embarrassed to come forward, and the total number of attacks could be more than 100.

If you think you may have been a victim of Worboys you are asked to call the police on 0800 121 4441.

April 24, 2009