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The Crime Agents

John Worboys: was the black cab rapist even worse than we thought?

5/28/202640 min

Over 100 survivors of John Worboys' abuse have now come forward to police; but after the recent TV drama 'Believe Me', that number is still growing, decades after Worboys first attacked the women who were unlucky enough to get in his black cab. In this episode, Andy & Neil hear from survivor Becki Houlston, who tells her story, and that of another victim, which leaves Andy & Neil questioning why Worboys was never charged with attempted murder as well as rapes and sexual assaults.

Becki explains why she and so many other survivors were initially reluctant to go to the police, as well as describing the police failures she's had to deal with in the last few years. Later, they discuss whether this case has fundamentally changed the way the authorities deal with victims of sexual crimes, and whether someone like Worboys could still get away with similar crimes today.

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The Crime Agents is a Global production, available every Monday and Thursday on Global Player, YouTube or wherever you get your shows. Make sure you subscribe so you never miss an episode.

Clips

Victim Thrown into Thames
Police Say: 'Enough Victims'
Conditioned to Be Polite
Why Victims Avoid Police

Transcript preview

First 90 seconds

  1. Speaker 10:00

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  2. Neil Basu· Host0:28

    This is a Global Player original podcast.

  3. Becki Houlston· Guest0:35

    There was his face, and I never forgot his face because of the, the strange narrowing eyes. At that point, I'm now questioning what happened.

  4. Andy Hughes· Host0:43

    And then he was allowed out, and he carried on abusing. And in fact, one victim said that officers laughed at them.

  5. Becki Houlston· Guest0:49

    And they said, "It's not our problem. It's a Met Police problem." So basically, it was nobody's problem, so it became my problem. She did try and leave the cab, and he exited the cab and chased after her. And the last memory she had of that was his trousers coming down.

  6. Neil Basu· Host1:05

    Oh my God.

  7. Becki Houlston· Guest1:06

    And then he threw her in the Thames.

  8. Neil Basu· Host1:09

    Threw her in the Thames?

  9. Becki Houlston· Guest1:10

    He threw her in the Thames. She could have died that night.

  10. Neil Basu· Host1:12

    Well, that's attempted murder for a start.

  11. Andy Hughes· Host1:14

    That's attempted murder.

  12. Neil Basu· Host1:15

    The Crime Agents.

  13. Andy Hughes· Host1:19

    Hello, and welcome to The Crime Agents with me, crime journalist Andy Hughes.

  14. Neil Basu· Host1:23

    And me, the ex-cop, Neil Basu. So today we're, uh, gonna t-discuss the case of John Worboys, who he was, and

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