This is a slightly different case from the norm regarding this kind of thing.
The source is also slightly unusual - don't think the CPS normally issue press releases for stuff like this. It's more often the police themselves.
Can't see anything on the Merseyside Police website, and there's just a rehash of the stuff below on the Birkenhead News website.
Anyway, the other odd thing about this is that the narrative reads more like a press report from a trial as opposed to the kind of stuff police would normally produce.
And the photo of the perp being arrested is different from the normal police mugshot.
Man who posed as taxi driver to kidnap and sexually abuse woman jailed
https://www.cps.gov.uk/mersey-cheshire/ ... man-jailed
Damian Watson being arrested (Image: Crown Prosecution Service)
A man who posed as a taxi driver, kidnapped a woman and forced her to remove clothing as he filmed her has been jailed.
Damian Watson, 36, of School Close, in Liscard, was driving his white Mercedes van when he picked up the woman in the Anfield area of Liverpool in April this year.
She had been out for the evening and ordered an Uber taxi on her phone. She thought Watson was the Uber driver and got into the vehicle, which drove off.
During the journey, the victim noticed the driver had stopped in an alleyway she did not recognise.
She asked where they were and Watson replied, “We’re in Bootle now love.” He started driving again and then stopped in another alleyway.
He then turned to the woman and demanded she remove her top in an aggressive manner.
The woman was terrified and felt she had no option but to do what he said. She kept asking to be let out of the car but Watson refused.
The woman pretended to hyperventilate which made Watson panic and begin driving again. The victim made a 999 call but did not speak and then rang her boyfriend.
Watson eventually let the woman out of the car in the city centre of Liverpool.
Police tracked the co-ordinates of the abandoned 999 call and then traced Watson to his home address.
They found his phone and another device that showed he had filmed himself in the car and had another device attached to the centre console, with the camera facing towards the passenger seat.
He had filmed the victim during the period he had her in his car.
He was arrested and the Crown Prosecution Service authorised the police to charge him with kidnapping, voyeurism, false imprisonment and causing a person to engage in sexual activity against their will.
He initially denied the charges, but at a pre-trial hearing on 29 May 2026, he entered guilty pleas to kidnapping and causing a person to engage in sexual activity against their will.
Today (26 June 2026) at Liverpool Crown Court, he was sentenced to five years and six months in prison. The court ordered that Watson's phones should be seized and destroyed.
Amie Gouldson of the Crown Prosecution Service said: “Damian Watson is a predatory offender who exploited a woman’s trust, posing as a taxi driver to carry out a planned and appalling sexual attack.
“Women and girls should be able to travel and go about their daily lives safely, without fear of violence or abuse.
“The victim in this case showed extraordinary courage and presence of mind, helping police and the Crown Prosecution Service bring a dangerous offender to justice and protect others from harm.”
