Taxi Driver Online

Maybe some sort of retrial, so probably better not to say too much


Man posed as taxi driver to abuse women, court told

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvg7kyrn65mo

A driver allegedly posed as an "unofficial Uber" driver to pick up "vulnerable and intoxicated" women he could abuse, a court heard.

Graham Head, 68, had latex gloves, condoms, Viagra tablets and a balaclava in his silver Mercedes when he was arrested in November 2022.

Mr Head, of Pevensey in East Sussex, is accused of assaulting an 19-year-old woman he picked up near Hove Park and kidnapping, sexually assaulting and attempting to rape a 25-year-old woman after picking her up in Brighton city centre.

He denies the charges, saying that he offered the 25-year-old a lift home but did not touch her and never met his other alleged victim, jurors at Lewes Crown Court were told.

The court was told on Monday that Mr Head was a "sexual predator" who "slipped up" the night he was arrested by police.

In his home, business cards advertising him as a "N-Uber driver" were emblazoned with the slogan "Safe and Reliable - For All Occasions" underneath one of his phone numbers.

The two attacks allegedly took place in the early hours of 19 August and 18 November, 2022.

Paul Jarvis KC, prosecuting, said that in the first attack a 19-year-old woman was "intoxicated and vulnerable" when Mr Head sexually assaulted her in Hove Park.

In the second incident, Mr Head is said to have picked up the 25-year-old woman from Middle Street in Brighton after telling her he was an Uber driver who had just finished working and would give her a free ride.

Mr Jarvis added that Mr Head then tried to rape the woman in the back seat of his car after driving near to her home.

He was arrested the same night after the woman came to and kicked him away, memorised part of his number plate and reported the incident to police, Mr Jarvis told the court.

The 25-year-old woman has since died, the jury was told.

Mr Head had two mobile phones and was "savvy enough" to know that if he kept them on while he was driving, the network provider could record his movements so kept them in flight mode while he was searching for victims, the court heard.

The trial continues.

Man who posed as Uber driver changed his story, jury told

A man accused of posing as an Uber driver to sexually assault a vulnerable young woman changed his story after denying to police he picked her up.

Graham Head was pulled over while driving in Brighton after a 25-year-old woman reported being attacked.

She told police she got into the car after the driver said he was an Uber at the end of his shift and offered her a free ride home in the early hours of November 18, 2022.

Seconds after fighting off the man who she said attacked her, the young woman read the number plate before the car drove off.

After screaming for help, she told a 999 operator she had been attacked by a man in latex gloves and a covid mask who was the driver of a car with registration staring L21.

A police patrol spotted a car near the scene and officers spoke to Mr Head, 68, at the roadside in Brighton after two cars pulled him over.

Video footage capture the moments police questioned Graham Head at the roadside:

On body worn camera video played to the jury, he is asked if he has had any interaction with a female in the minutes before he was stopped.

Head, from Pevensey, told police through a blue covid face mask: “No, I haven’t.

“I’m going back to Pevensey.”

Officers tell Mr Head his personalised registration matches a partial numberplate given by the 25-year-old woman minutes before.

He tells police: “Definitely not me, no.”

As he is speaking, police decide to search his car with the personalised numberplate L21 GRH.

Officers found latex gloves, viagra, condoms and a balaclava.

Head later told police he picked the woman up near Brighton seafront and drove her to Hove.

He said she looked worse for wear.

“I know I haven’t done it.

“If I took her to the correct address, that’s not kidnapping.

“I never said to her I was an Uber driver, I’ve never said that ever.

“I asked her if she wanted me to get her an Uber.

“She happily got in the car.

“I did not sexually assault that lady, I didn’t,” Graham Head told police.

He said he did not realise they were trying to pull him over when the patrol car followed him.

PC Richard Harris said he used his blue lights, headlights and siren.

“I didn’t see anything that indicated he was going to pull over,” PC Harris said.

Graham Head denies kidnap, attempted rape and sexual assault.

Two women told police they were attacked by him in Brighton in August and November 2022.

Police asked him why he had condoms and viagra in his car.

“I’m a normal red blooded male,” he said.

Mr Head told police he had been in Brighton on his own to hear live music in November 2022.

He was driving with a covid mask on when they pulled him over.

Head denies attacking the two women in August and November 2022.

Head, of Pevensey, denies kidnapping, attempted rape and three sexual assaults.

The trial at Lewes Crown Court continues.

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IDFIMH

Official Sussex Police press release...


Fake taxi driver re-convicted of Brighton sex offences after appeal

https://www.sussex.police.uk/news/susse ... er-appeal/

A fake taxi driver who successfully appealed a conviction of attempting to rape one woman and sexually assaulting another has been found guilty for a second time.

In July, 2023, Graham Head, 68, formerly of Coast Road in Pevensey, was given a 23-year sentence for kidnap, attempted rape and assault by penetration relating to two female victims in Brighton and Hove.

In November, 2024, the Court of Appeal overturned the conviction following a complaint from Head relating to the Judge who presided over the original trial.

A retrial date was set and, on Thursday (19 June), a new jury at Lewes Crown Court found Head guilty of all counts.

He is due to appear at the same court on 25 August for sentencing.

Detective Constable Elliott Lander from the Surrey and Sussex Major Crime Team said: “Graham Head has twice tried to evade justice for his despicable crimes, and now twice been convicted by separate juries.

“His refusal to accept responsibility for his offending has forced his victims to relive the traumatic attacks carried out by him. The impact on them and their families cannot be overstated, and I commend all involved for their strength and courage in such challenging circumstances.

“Head will remain in prison, as he has throughout this process, as we await resentencing.”


One of Head’s victims, a woman in her 20s, is now sadly deceased. Her Mum has released the following statement:

Regardless of the outcome of this trial and independently of the jury’s verdicts on each of the charges that Graham Head has just faced, I want to say a few words on behalf of my daughter.

My (only) daughter tragically died in late 2024 – a couple days after being informed by the CPS that Graham Head had been successful in appealing his conviction for kidnap of my daughter and for causing serious sexual harm to her and to another even younger female victim.

I feel strongly that I need to protect the anonymity of my own and my daughter’s friends and the families and friends of Graham Head’s victims. However, I want to recognise and say my own deep thanks for the strong and compassionate support that my daughter, myself, and our family have received from the Police, the CPS, the witness service, and the Courts over the past two years.

This retrial process has been tremendously difficult and a huge strain for all of us; we’re glad it is now over. I’m especially grateful for the attuned support of the Sexual Offences Investigation Team (SOIT) and the Independent Sexual Violence Advocacy (ISVA) service who supported my daughter every step of the way through the challenges of bringing this man to justice on both trials.

Looking to my family’s future following my daughter’s death, my biggest hope is that other families can now hopefully feel much safer knowing that this dangerous man is no longer able to predate and attack any other vulnerable young local woman thanks to his deserved (re)conviction for these appalling offences.

My other hope is that, if there are other young women who feel they may have narrowly escaped or fallen victim to this sexual predator, then they will hopefully be reassured by my daughter’s and our family’s experience that they will be listened to, supported, and well cared for by the Police and Court systems.

Circumstances

During the trial, the court heard police were investigating the attempted rape of a woman in Brighton in August, 2022 when, in November of that year, a separate report was received of a woman having been sexually assaulted in a vehicle, which she believed to be a taxi.

Investigators soon realised both incidents were connected.

The first incident was reported by a woman in her late teens on 19 August, who was dragged into bushes in Hove Park by a man in the early hours of that morning. She had earlier received a lift from him from Brighton to Hove Park.

He attempted to rape her, but fled the scene when the victim’s mobile phone rang.

Her attacker was described as a 40-50-year-old short man wearing a face mask.

She was supported by specialist officers while an investigation was launched.

CCTV footage from that investigation showed the victim approaching a silver Mercedes estate, which was then tracked through city centre CCTV and doorbell footage driving slowly along the road near Hove Park.

On 18 November, a woman in her 20s reported waking up in a vehicle, which she believed to be a taxi, to find a man sexually assaulting her. She had earlier got into what she thought was a taxi taking her from Brighton to Hove.

She managed to escape, called police at around 3.10am and was able to remember three digits of the car’s registration plate.

Within minutes, officers located the vehicle – a silver Mercedes estate - and stopped it in Preston Circus following a short pursuit. It was being driven by Graham Head, a short man wearing a face mask.

Inside the vehicle, police located latex gloves, condoms, Viagra tablets and a balaclava.

His mobile phone had been placed on flight mode and his internet search history was found to include phrases such as ‘if a mobile phone is switched off can it still be traced’ and multiple searches around nightclub opening times in Brighton, East Sussex and Surrey, as well as information on Brighton student nights.

Wonder what that was all about?

That is just so sad.

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IDFIMH

i would describe it as tragic. just imagine waking up every day knowing that this monster took a family member away from you through his actions.

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lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector

I suspect the judge will give him quite a significant sentence.

And a person like him convicted of such offences will not have a happy time inside.

Also given his age he could possibly die inside.

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IDFIMH

This is quite a long police press release, at least by the standards of these things. I haven't read it properly yet, but also unusual is the stuff at the bottom about copyright sort of stuff. Or whatever. I'm missed out the photo as well, because it's the same one as used previously.


23-year sentence for fake taxi driver who attacked two women

https://www.sussex.police.uk/news/susse ... n/?u=media

Fake taxi driver Graham Head has been jailed for a second time for serious sexual offences against two women.

In July, 2023, Head, 68, formerly of Coast Road in Pevensey, was given a 23-year sentence for kidnap, attempted rape and assault by penetration relating to two female victims in Brighton and Hove.

In November, 2024, the Court of Appeal overturned the conviction following a complaint from Head relating to the Judge who presided over the original trial.

A retrial date was set and, on Thursday (19 June), a new jury at Lewes Crown Court found Head guilty of all counts.

At the same court on Friday (29 August), Head’s original sentence was upheld, of 18 years in custody plus extended licence of five years, totalling 23 years.

Passing sentence, HHJ Christine Laing described Head as a ‘sexual predator preying on vulnerable women’, who is the ‘very definition of dangerous’ and a ‘significant risk of serious harm’.

HHJ Christine Laing commended the victims, including a posthumous commendation for one of the young women who memorised Head’s number plate after the attack leading to his swift arrest on the same night. “No doubt her actions led to safety of other victims from a similar fate,” they said.

HHJ Christine Laing also commended DC Elliott Lander, DS Matthew Digweed and PS Daniel Head for their roles in the arrest and prosecution of Graham Head, alongside Sexual Offence Investigation Team (SOIT) officers Sarah Sebastian and Hannah Brocklehurst for the support provided to the victims.

One of Head’s victims, a woman in her 20s, is now sadly deceased. Her Mum read a personal statement to the court, extracts of which are included below:

“I stand here and address you today, Graham Head, as the mother of one of your two young victims. She cannot be there to help the court understand the utterly devastating impact of your crimes against her in the early hours of 18 November, 2022.

“That is because my only daughter tragically died on 15 December, 2024, just a few days after the Crown Prosecution Service informed her that your appeal had been successful with all your convictions against her quashed.

“My fiercely intelligent daughter immediately understood that, to avoid your release from a 23-year prison sentence, she would have to face the gruelling ordeal of a second Crown Court hearing of the case against you.”

The statement continues:

“[My daughter’s] sense of safety and her confidence in the goodness of the world was completely and permanently shattered the night that you so malevolently tricked her into the back seat of your car. You robbed my gorgeous girl of the bright and promising future that she had been building.

“After that night, [my daughter] was diagnosed with complex PTSD and she developed agoraphobia so severe that she struggled to leave the house, even with the support of her trusted friends. She couldn’t work. She couldn’t do any of her everyday things without fear. The independence, joy and freedom in life that all women are entitled at her age to enjoy had all been stripped away by you.”

Detective Constable Elliott Lander from the Surrey and Sussex Major Crime Team said: “No prison sentence can make up for the devastation caused by Graham Head’s appalling crimes.

“His refusal to take any responsibility has only inflicted further trauma on his victims. I cannot thank the victims and their families enough for the strength they have shown under extremely challenging circumstances.

“Head presents a clear danger to women and the streets of Sussex are safer now he will remain behind bars.

“Anyone who has any information or concerns linked to this investigation is asked to contact police online or via 101, quoting Operation Cooper.”

Rebecca Millardship from the Crown Prosecution Service said: “Graham Head is a dangerous sexual predator, who poses a real danger to young women.

“He planned his attacks carefully, pretending to be an Uber driver, using latex gloves to minimise the risk of leaving traces of his DNA and, while he was searching for victims, he made sure his phones were on flight mode, so they could not be tracked.

“After a re-trial was ordered, the CPS remained steadfast in our commitment to deliver justice for the victims.

“Following the tragic death of one of the victims in this case, we were still able to ensure her voice was heard during the re-trial, with her interview given to the police played to the jury and details of the answers she gave to questions from the defence during the original trial also included in our case.

“Today’s sentence ensures that Head will not be able to hurt any other young women. We hope that this sentence brings some small comfort to everyone involved in the case.”

Circumstances

During the trial, the court heard police were investigating the attempted rape of a woman in Brighton in August, 2022 when, in November of that year, a separate report was received of a woman having been sexually assaulted in a vehicle, which she believed to be a taxi.

Investigators soon realised both incidents were connected.

The first incident was reported by a woman in her late teens on 19 August, who was dragged into bushes in Hove Park by a man in the early hours of that morning. She had earlier received a lift from him from Brighton to Hove Park.

He attempted to rape her, but fled the scene when the victim’s mobile phone rang.

Her attacker was described as a 40-50-year-old short man wearing a face mask.

She was supported by specialist officers while an investigation was launched.

CCTV footage from that investigation showed the victim approaching a silver Mercedes estate, which was then tracked through city centre CCTV and doorbell footage driving slowly along the road near Hove Park.

On 18 November, a woman in her 20s reported waking up in a vehicle, which she believed to be a taxi, to find a man sexually assaulting her. She had earlier got into what she thought was a taxi taking her from Brighton to Hove.

She managed to escape, called police at around 3.10am and was able to remember three digits of the car’s registration plate.

Within minutes, officers located the vehicle – a silver Mercedes estate - and stopped it in Preston Circus following a short pursuit. It was being driven by Graham Head, a short man wearing a face mask.

Inside the vehicle, police located latex gloves, condoms, Viagra tablets and a balaclava.

His mobile phone had been placed on flight mode and his internet search history was found to include phrases such as ‘if a mobile phone is switched off can it still be traced’ and multiple searches around nightclub opening times in Brighton, East Sussex and Surrey, as well as information on Brighton student nights.

Author: John Holden

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