Pevensey fake Uber driver guilty of sex attacks on Brighton women
A sexual predator who carried a "rape kit" while posing as a fake Uber driver has been found guilty of kidnap and sex offences for a second time following a retrial.Graham Head, 68, was convicted of attempting to rape one woman and sexually assaulting another after posing as a taxi driver to approach vulnerable victims in Brighton in 2022.The retrial at Lewes Crown Court heard that Head changed his story about having contact with one victim on the night he attacked her.Head, of Pevensey, East Sussex, was first convicted in 2023 but then successfully appealed his sentence in 2024. He will be sentenced again in August following the retrial.
One of Head's victims, a 25-year-old woman, died in December 2024 shortly after Head's previous 23-year sentence was quashed. Her death is being investigated by the coroner.Her mother, who attended every day of the retrial, wept as the guilty verdicts were read out.She said: "My biggest hope is that other families can now hopefully feel much safer knowing that this dangerous man is no longer able to predate and attack any other vulnerable young local woman, thanks to his deserved re-conviction for these appalling offences."She continued: "My other hope is that, if there are other young women who feel they may have narrowly escaped or fallen victim to this sexual predator, then they will hopefully be reassured by my daughter's and our family's experience that they will be listened to, supported, and well cared for by the police and court systems."
The retrial heard that after being stopped in Brighton in November 2022 Head was found with latex gloves, Viagra, condoms and a balaclava in his silver Mercedes.Earlier that night Head told his 25-year-old victim that he was an Uber driver and at the end of his shift, and offered her a free ride home.Once in the car he tried to rape her, but she was able to kick him off and escape before giving a partial number plate to emergency services.Having been stopped, bodycam footage showed Head telling police: "I know I haven't done it."If I took her to the correct address, that's not kidnapping. "I never said to her I was an Uber driver, I've never said that ever."
In August 2022, a 19-year-old woman had reported that she had been attacked after being picked up in central Brighton.After being taken to a park in the city, she texted a friend at 04:15 BST – "I'm being raped."Paul Jarvis KC, prosecuting, said: "When her friend called back the defendant [Head] was startled. He got up and ran off."
The woman suffered injuries including bloodied knees, bruising on her ankles and wrists, and grazes on her hands.Head shook his head and said "No" as the verdicts were returned.Her Honour Judge Christine Laing KC said: "The defendant has tried twice now to persuade a jury despite, what some might say, was extremely compelling evidence."The second victim's mother thanked Sussex Police, the Crown Prosecution Service and the courts for supporting her daughter and bringing Head to justice.
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