With Believe Me coming to an end on ITV and Carrie Johnson's key role in bringing John Worboys to justice revealed, the 38-year-old has now spoken out after he was denied parole for a second time last week.
In case you didn't know, Carrie Johnson (then Symonds) was a teenager when she was involved in one of the UK's most famous criminal investigations. Aged 19, she was picked up by Worboys - also known as the 'Black Cab Rapist' - from a bus stop when she was trying to get home from a night out in Fulham.
Worboys would use the same story on the vulnerable women he was picking up; telling them he had either just won money in a casino or by playing the lottery, then offered them a glass of 'celebratory' champagne. The drink would be laced with sedatives, before he would sexually assault them.
Worboys was convicted of attacking 12 women in 2009. It was a shock to victims and the UK alike when the Parole Board announced in 2018 that Worboys was to be released after serving just 10 years.
Carrie, alongside fellow survivors, was instrumental in the legal fightback, leading to the denial of his parole - with the former cab driver found guilty of harming a further four women in 2019. He was sentenced to life with a minimum term of six additional years.
The rapist has now been up for parole a second time, which was denied last week [15th May] when a spokesperson for the parole board said: "The panel were not satisfied that he no longer posed a risk to the public, and accordingly did not direct his release."
Carrie has since taken to social media to share her thoughts.
What did Carrie Johnson say about John Worboys' parole being denied for a second time?
Writing on Instagram Stories on Thursday [14th May], Carrie said, "It has been a hugely anxious wait knowing that Worboys was up for parole again. The relief I feel knowing that he will remain behind bars is hard to put into words. Women and girls across Britain are safer as a result of this decision.
"Thank you to everyone who has sent kind messages after watching ITV's Believe Me. Your kind words have meant a great deal."
What has Carrie Johnson said about Believe Me?
In a statement shared via ITV when the show first came out, Carrie said: "I hope Believe Me serves as a wake-up call to the police, the CPS, and the parole board. Far too often, women and girls are failed by the very institutions meant to protect them.
"The treatment of the victims in this case was truly shameful. Reform matters, but what we urgently need above all is a profound shift in culture. It takes enormous courage for women to come forward. They must know that when they do, they will be treated seriously and with respect, and that every effort will be made to ensure justice is done."
While Carrie has said she doesn't believe she was sexually assaulted, in a 2018 essay in The Times, she detailed, "I feel I would know if Worboys had raped me that night. I’d have flashbacks or there would have been horrendous tell-tale signs when I woke the next day. But I will never truly know for sure what happened after he drugged me."
Believe Me is available to stream in full on ITVX.
