Carrie Johnson has said there could be “up to 1,000, if not more” John Worboys victims, as she said she had been contacted by people who believe they were assaulted by the serial rapist.
Speaking to Good Morning Britain, Johnson, the wife of former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, recounted her encounter with Worboys and the journey she went through to give evidence against him.
She said: “The truth is that his crimes span from, what we know, from 2000 up to when he was convicted in 2009.
“And he was a cab driver for that duration, out potentially every night in his cab, so there could be up to 1,000 if not more than that.”
Worboys is serving a life sentence after luring women into his taxi late at night, pretending he had won money and offering them celebratory drinks laced with drugs.
‘This might really help keep him behind bars for good’
Johnson highlighted that tourists and foreign visitors often use black cabs, and they may never report their crimes.
She said: “I think there’ll be women who, like me, were drugged, who might not realise they were drugged, who just thought, God, maybe that last drink didn’t sit well with me, or, or now maybe they’ve seen what’s happened and they think, ‘Oh well, it’s done’.
“I would urge them to come forward if they can.”
She said the scale of Worboys crimes “could be enormous.”
Johnson also highlighted the recent broadcast of Believe Me, a four-part miniseries detailing Worboys’ victims’ fight for justice, started on ITV on May 10, as a further way awareness has been raised about his crimes.
She said as a result of the broadcast, “more women are now coming forward.”
Johnson said people had messaged her on Instagram, “telling me that they think they are in Worboys’ cab too.”
She said she hoped “that this might really help keep him behind bars for good.”
Johnson was 19 when she got in Worboys’ cab after a night out in Chelsea. He offered to take her home despite her not having enough money.
He claimed he had won a lot of money at a casino and wanted to celebrate, offering Johnson alcohol.
Police later said this was a method he used to drug his victims by spiking alcohol, often repeating the casino story.
Johnson said she drank a small amount of the alcohol offered but declined his other propositions before Worboys eventually took her home.
He offered her his number when she got out of the taxi and she later used this as evidence against him in court.
Minutes later in her house, she became unwell and began vomiting.
‘There could be up to 1,000 if not more than that’
Johnson has recently called for a culture change by the police in their approach to rape and claimed some officers didn’t take her seriously.
She told GMB: “If my car was stolen, if I went to the police, I think they would believe me, and I think they would write down the evidence accordingly.
“But if I go and say I’ve been raped, I’m not sure they necessarily do. They at least don’t act like they do. They question one’s integrity.”
Last week the Parole Board said Worboys “continues to represent a high risk of committing further serious sexual offences against women”.
Worboys indicated to the board he would not be requesting to be freed, so a scheduled public hearing was cancelled.
John Worboys is serving a life sentence. Credit: PA
Parole papers said the 68-year-old “accepts that he does not currently meet the test for release” and claims to feel “enormous regret, remorse and shame”.
When asked about Worboys’ reported remorse, Johnson said: “I don’t believe it. No, I don’t believe in the last couple of years that he has had a personality transplant.”
Worboys was first jailed in 2009 for 19 sexual offences linked to attacks on 12 victims between October 2006 and February 2008 in London, and was given an indefinite sentence for public protection with a minimum term of eight years.
In December 2017, a Parole Board panel decided he was ready for release, sparking a legal challenge by two of his victims that successfully got the decision overturned.
Amid outrage over the battle, rules were then changed to allow some parole hearings to be held in public and permit better scrutiny of the processes used.
The publicity around the case led further victims to come forward, and Worboys was charged with more crimes dating between 2000 and 2008, which he admitted.
In 2019, he was handed two life sentences with a minimum term of six years.
Worboys will be considered for parole again in around two years’ time.
If you, or someone you know, has been a victim of rape of sexual violence, there is support out there to help:
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Rape Crisis (England and Wales) Rape Crisis provides specialist information and support to all those affected by rape, sexual assault, sexual harassment and all other forms of sexual violence and abuse in England and Wales.Contact helpline: 0808 500 2222 (24/7)
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The Survivors Trust The Survivors Trust is the largest umbrella agency for specialist rape and sexual abuse services in the UKHelpline: 0808 801 0818 | Text: 07860 022956
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Survivors UK – Male Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Survivors UK has support for any man, boy or non-binary person who has ever experienced unwanted sexual activity. Visit the website to chat through webchat, or by texting 020 3322 1860
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