A man who pretended to be an Uber driver to target vulnerable women has been convicted for a second time of kidnapping and sexual offences. Graham Head, 68, from Pevensey, East Sussex, was found guilty by a jury at Lewes Crown Court after an eight-hour deliberation.
Police arrested Head in November 2022 after a 25-year-old woman reported being offered a free ride home. Officers found a 'rape kit' in his car, including latex gloves, condoms, Viagra tablets, and a balaclava. At his home, they discovered business cards advertising him as a 'N-Uber driver' with the slogan 'Safe and Reliable - For All Occasions'.
Head was originally sentenced to 23 years in prison in July 2023, but the Court of Appeal overturned the conviction in November last year after a complaint about the trial judge. The retrial resulted in a guilty verdict on all charges, including kidnapping and attempted rape of a 25-year-old woman, and sexual assault by penetration of a 19-year-old woman.
Prosecutor Paul Jarvis KC described Head as a 'sexual predator' who used his car to find intoxicated women. Head kept his mobile phones on flight mode to avoid being tracked, and carried Viagra and condoms to facilitate his crimes. The attacks occurred in the early hours of August 19, 2022, in Hove Park, and on November 18, 2022, after the second victim left a bar in Brighton.
The 25-year-old victim memorised part of Head's number plate, leading to his arrest. The court heard that Head claimed he offered the woman a lift but did not touch her, and denied ever meeting the other victim. He will be sentenced at a later date.
