Graham Head has been sent to jail for 23 years(Picture: Sussex Police)
A fake Uber driver who kept a ‘rape kit in his car’ as he prowled the streets of Brighton has been jailed for 23 years.
Graham Head, 66, was described by the judge as a ‘dangerous, sexual predator’ as he was sent down at Brighton Crown Court.
He was only stopped after a victim memorised part of his personalised number plate.
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 called 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.
Head kept viagra, rubber gloves, a balaclava, and baby oil in his car as he prowled the streets of Brighton hunting for vulnerable, young women.
The perverted pensioner was arrested after a car chase with police through the seaside city.
Head was jailed after a victim memorised the last three digits of his car (Picture: PA)
The court heard that Head would prowl the streets of Brighton looking for victims (Picture: Surrey Police)
Head told victims he was a taxi and had business cards designed to look like he worked with Uber.
Cops 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 nighttime assaults on vulnerable women.
In a 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 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.
Police bodycam footage of the moment he was arrested (Picture: Surrey Police)
He could be seen in CCTV on the streets of Brighton in his silver Mercedes car (Picture: Surrey Police)
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 that 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 the police at around 3am and was able to remember three digits of the number plate on his silver Mercedes estate.
Head was wearing a facemask when police pulled him over.
Cops found an extendable baton and incapacitating spray when they searched his home in Pevensey, East Sussex.
Investigators pieced Head’s movements together using 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.
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Head kept viagra, rubber gloves, a balaclava, and baby oil in his car as he prowled the streets of Brighton.
