Fake Uber rapist jailed after victim died fearing he might never face justice

A ‘dangerous sexual predator’ who posed as an Uber driver while prowling the streets for vulnerable women to pick up and abuse has been jailed for the second time.

Graham Head, 68, carried a ‘rape kit’ in his car including latex gloves, Viagra, condoms and a balaclava while cruising through Brighton and Hove late at night.

He was convicted of kidnap, attempted rape and assault by penetration in relation to two female victims and given a 23-year sentence in 2023.

But those convictions were quashed by the Court of Appeal the following November. A new jury at Lewes Crown Court has now found him guilty of the same charges again.

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

She commended his victims, including a posthumous commendation for one 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,’ she said.

Tragically, the young mum died just days after Head’s initial set of convictions were overturned.

In a harrowing personal statement, the woman’s mother said her daughter died knowing he could be freed.

Addressing Head, she said: ‘Her last words were, “Help me, please, mum. I am in hell. I cannot go through another horrendous trial again”.

‘I want you and the judge to understand a little of what her life was like before she made the massive mistake of getting into your car.

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‘She was studying at university, she had a boyfriend, a huge group of friends. She had very many people who loved her greatly.

‘She was also a young mother with a daughter who was only three years old.’

The mother continued: ‘On that day, the happy and promising life she was enjoying to the full was taken from her.

‘Her torment was undiminished until her tragic early death.

‘You robbed my gorgeous girl of the bright and promising future she was building.

‘We will probably never know if her trauma was the primary cause of her death.

‘She said she could not survive a retrial.’

Jurors heard how 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 quickly established both incidents were connected.

The first 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 started ringing.

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

CCTV showed the victim approaching a silver Mercedes estate, which was then tracked through city centre 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.

The woman 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 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.

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.’

Rebecca Millardship from the Crown Prosecution Service said: ‘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.’

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