John Worboys: Lawyers urge CPS to reassess 93 allegations against convicted rapist
Victims told Worboys would be inside 'for a long time' so a fresh trial was unnecessary, firms claim
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Lawyers have called for 93 allegations against John Worboys, the black cab sex attacker, to be reassessed.
The firms Slater and Gordon and Bimberg Pierce wrote to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to say “our clients were shocked and dismayed to learn of Worboys’ imminent release”.
Lawyers Richard Scorer and Harriet Wistrich wrote: “Worboys was only prosecuted in respect of a small fraction of the allegations against him – 12 complainants out of some 105 in total whom, we understand, made complaints to the police.
“It is understood that the intention was that ‘the indictment was not overloaded and that the case was as simple as it could be to present to a jury’.”
They claimed victims had been told Worboys would “not be coming out for a long time” and so a fresh trial was not necessary.
They added: “To the extent that this was the CPS’s expectation at the time, this has clearly not happened and this justification for not bringing further prosecutions has fallen away.”
Prosecutors should reassess “the evidence in all Worboys cases with a view to further prosecution,” they said.
A CPS spokesman told The Independent criminal allegations were “a matter for the police to investigate in the first place”, to be passed to the CPS later for a charging decision.
Mr Scorer said in a statement: “It is crucial that the CPS reconsiders all of the cases Worboys was not prosecuted for to assess whether he should face further charges.
“Our clients were led to believe their attacker would not be walking free for many many years, so there was no point in prosecuting him for their allegations.
“This clearly has not happened and we are left with dozens of women fearing for their safety and feeling sorely let down by the very system that is meant to protect them.
“It is of fundamental importance that the CPS agrees to this request to ensure Worboys’ victims, and indeed the greater public, have their faith restored in the criminal justice system.”
Worboys served eight years in prison after his conviction in 2009 and news of his impending release sparked outrage last week.
Victims called for him to be banned from London.