London - A London taxi driver who drugged and sexually assaulted at least a dozen of his female passengers was Tuesday given an indefinite jail sentence but will have to serve at least eight years.

Croydon Crown Court sentenced John Worboys, 51, after convicting him of one rape, five sexual assaults, one attempted assault and
12 drugging charges committed in the London area between July, 2007 and February, 2008.

Worboys, a former stripper, offered the women, who would often be on their way home from a night out in London, champagne spiked with powerful sedatives to celebrate a fictional lottery win.

Many women were left with little memory of their ordeals and could only recall falling asleep in the back of the vehicle before waking up at home, the court heard.

Police said Worboys is the prime suspect in at least 85 attacks in the London area and in the county of Dorset, in south-west Britain, going back as far as 2002.

Detectives would continue to interview Worboys in prison in an attempt to clear up dozens of unsolved sex crimes.

"Drivers of licensed black cabs have a worldwide reputation for their trustworthiness - you saw the opportunity of exploiting that trust and sexually abusing young women," the presiding judge said to Worboys when handing down the sentence. (dpa)