Survivors of serial rapist John Worboys are warning that his pattern of offending likely extended well beyond London. Speaking on a Daily Mail podcast, victims Sarah and Carrie Johnson suggested his reach may have stretched from Bournemouth to Blackpool.

From Bournemouth to Blackpool: Expanding the crime scene

While the 2009 prosecution of John Worboys focused heavily on his activities as a London black cab driver, survivors are now challenging that geographic boundary. As reported by the Daily Mail, there is growing evidence that the offender's predatory behavior was not confined to the capital's streets.. Specifically, survivor Sarah noted that reports have emerged from women claiming assaults in Bournemouth, where Worboys owned property , and Blackpool, where he was employed.

This potential expansion of his crime spree suggests that the "Black Cab Rapist" may have operated a much wider net of terror than the initial investigation captured. For many, this realization changes the understanding of his movement patterns between 2000 and 2008, moving the scope from a localized London threat to a multi-city predatory campaign.

The 90-victim admission at the Old Bailey

The discrepancy between the official conviction count and the actual scale of the crimes is stark. During a 2019 trial at the Old Bailey, the court heard testimony regarding Worboys' own admissions to a prison psychologist. According to the report, Worboys claimed to have plied approximately 90 women with alcohol, and stated that he had drugged about a quarter of them.

Despite these admissions, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) only selected 12 cases to present to a jury during the original 2009 prosecution. This gap between the 16 attacks for which he was convicted and the 90 women he admitted to targeting highlights a significant volume of potentially unaddressed criminal activity.

A fight against the 2018 Parole Board decision

The legal battle to keep the 68-year-old offender incarcerated has been a long-standing struggle for his victims. In 2018, Worboys came close to being released after a private Parole Board hearing approved his application. However, Sarah and Carrie Johnson—the latter being the wife of former Prime Minister Boris Johnson—fought tirelessly to have that decision overturned to ensure he remained behind bars.

This ongoing vigilance is underscored by the release of the new ITV drama, Believe Me,which features characters loosely based on these survivors . The drama serves as a cultural touchstone for the survivors' efforts to ensure that the gravity of Worboys' actions is not minimized by the passage of time or his recent parole refusals.

The "enough evidence" gap in police reporting

A critical and unanswered question remains regarding how police handled the influx of reports during the initial investigation. Carrie Johnson raised concerns that some women were discouraged from pursuing their cases, claiming she encountered a woman on Instagram who was told by police that "enough evidence" already existed, leading to her case not being officially recorded. This raises several specific, unverified questions: How many women were told their reports were unnecessary because the police already had sufficient evidence? Did the decision to focus on 12 specific cases result in the systemic dismissal of other credible victims? Survivors are currently being urged to call 101 and quote "Safford" to ensure any new information is correctly linked to the Worboys investigation .