A fake Uber driver who prowled the streets with a makeshift rape kit in his car has been jailed for 23 years.
Graham Head, 66, posed as a taxi driver as he cruised the streets of Brighton looking for vulnerable, young women to assault.
The predator was arrested while driving around the seaside resort in a facemask after one of his victim’s memorised a section of his personalised numberplate.
Detectives said items found in Head’s car, including Viagra, latex gloves, a balaclava and baby oil, showed the premeditated nature of his crimes.
Now, Head, from Pevensey, East Sussex, has been jailed for 23 years after being convicted of kidnapping, attempted rape, and sexual assault, by a jury at Hove Trial Centre.
Graham Head, 66, (pictured) posed as a taxi driver to take advantage of vulnerable women
Graham Head (pictured) was arrested wearing a facemask while driving around Brighton
The predator was caught after a woman in her 20’s remembered three digits of the fake taxi driver’s number plate after kicking him in the groin.
The judge praised the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, for her presence of mind in memorising part of the plate number and calling police immediately.
‘Were it not for her, he would not have been apprehended and we would not be where we are today,’ His Honour Judge Jeremy Gold KC said.
The perverted pensioner was subsequently arrested following a car chase with police through the seaside resort.
Head told victims he was a taxi driver and had business cards designed to look like he worked with Uber.
Police found pepper spray and an extendable baton at his home and Detectives believe there are more victims who have not yet come forward.
Prosecutor Ryan Richter said Head was responsible for a series of terrifying night time assaults on vulnerable women.
In a victim statement, his first victim said the physical impacts of his attack were temporary, ‘The psychological impacts were not.’
The young woman said she was frequently overwhelmed and still struggles to be outside on her own at night.
Head’s second victim was so traumatised she was unable to give a statement, Mr Richter said.
HHJ Gold told Head: ‘You were in the habit of driving around in the early hours of the morning looking for vulnerable, intoxicated young women.
‘You were posing as a good samaritan. instead you were a sexual predator.’
He was convicted on clear and compelling evidence, the judge said.
Head was caught after one of his victims remembered three digits of his personalised numberplate
Head was jailed for 18 years with a five year dangerousness extension on each of the three counts with the sentences to be served concurrently.
He will be eligible for parole after serving at least 12 years in prison, Judge Gold said.
The judge praised police for their painstaking work in analysing CCTV around Brighton, numberplate cameras, phone data and banking records to give the jury a full picture of Head’s activities.
A jury in Hove found him guilty of kidnapping, attempted rape and sexual assault in June.
Head raged at the verdicts shouting: ‘I’m not guilty of anything.’
The fake cabbie yelled: ‘No. No DNA, no nothing.’
He slammed his chair in the dock at Hove Trial Centre before he was taken down.
Head still denies committing the offences.
The kerb crawling sex attacker was stopped after a victim remembered part of his personalised numberplate and alerted Brighton police.
The court heard police investigating the attempted rape of a woman in Brighton in August, 2022 were alerted to another sex attack in November.
A woman in her late teens was dragged into bushes by Head in the early hours of August 19.
He attempted to rape her after giving her a lift from Brighton to the park.
He fled when her phone rang, the jury heard.
On November 18, 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 managed to escape after kicking Head in the groin.
She called police at around 0310 and was able to remember three digits of his numberplate on his silver Mercedes estate.
The predator prowled the streets of Brighton in his silver Mercedes estate (pictured) under the guise of being a taxi driver
Investigators pieced Head’s movements together using footage from CCTV and doorbell cameras
Head was wearing a facemask when police pulled him over.
Police found an extendable baton and incapacitating spray when they searched his home in Pevensey, East Sussex.
Investigators pieced Head’s movements together using footage from CCTV and doorbell cameras.
Sussex Police praised the quick thinking and bravery of the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons.
Defending Head, Francesca Levett said he was a vibrant, lively, family man who had serious long term health problems.
Head has recurrent Meningitis and an inoperable brain aneurysm, she said.
Detective Constable Elliott Lander from the Surrey and Sussex Major Crime Team said: ‘Graham Head is a predatory offender who gained the trust of these victims by posing as a taxi driver, only to take advantage of vulnerable women in the most abhorrent ways.
‘The items found in his car show the callous, pre-meditated nature of his crimes as he moved through Brighton and Hove looking for potential victims.
‘Thanks to the quick-thinking and bravery of these two women, we were quickly able to connect Head to both incidents and bring him to justice. I would like to thank them both for their support during this investigation.
‘Without them, this dangerous individual could still be at large.
‘Instead, he has been brought to justice and the streets of Brighton and Hove are safer as a result.
‘We believe Head may have further victims who have not yet come forward.’
Anyone with information is asked to contact police online or via 101, quoting Operation Cooper.
