Serial sex offender who posed as taxi driver to rape teenagers jailed for 23 years

A serial sex offender who posed as a taxi driver to hunt for vulnerable teenage girls on nights out in Liverpool has been jailed for 23 years.

Amponsah Thompson, 29, used his white Mercedes as a “hunting vehicle” to trawl the city’s nightlife districts, looking for lone, intoxicated young women before attacking them, Liverpool Crown Court heard today.

The Ghanaian national, who has leave to remain in the United Kingdom, was sentenced for a catalogue of offences against three young women – two of them aged just 18 – between August 2024 and 2025.

First victim escaped after pretending family was phoning

The first attack happened in August 2024, when an 18-year-old woman left a night out shortly after 2am. Heavily drunk and separated from her friends, she approached Thompson’s car and asked if he was a taxi driver.

Prosecutor David Polglase told the court Thompson “lied and pretended that he was.” Believing she was being taken home, the teenager climbed into the vehicle.

Instead, Thompson drove her to his home on Rocky Lane in Tuebrook, where he joined her in the back seat and sexually assaulted her. She escaped further violation only by pretending her family was calling and that she had shared her location with them.

Thompson stopped and drove her home. The victim later insisted on paying him – a fatal mistake for her attacker, as bank transfers allowed police to trace him directly.

When interviewed, Thompson denied pretending to be a taxi driver and claimed there had been no physical contact. He was released on bail.

Second rape while under investigation

In December 2024, while still under investigation, Thompson struck again. He found another 18-year-old woman, described by prosecutors as “extremely drunk and vulnerable,” slumped by a wall in the city centre.

She was seen being escorted to his vehicle around 3.30am. She later recalled “zoning in and out of sleep” and waking up at his flat, where she had been raped. Thompson drove her home the next day.

He claimed the sexual activity had been consensual, but a jury convicted him of one count of rape following a trial.

Third victim raped multiple times, threatened with knife

Throughout 2025, as detectives continued their work, Thompson preyed upon a third victim, raping her an estimated six or seven times. He also subjected her to violent assaults and threatened her with a knife.

The prosecutor told the court: “We say that this defendant is manipulative. He is a sexual predator. He has little or no regard for the boundaries of and consent for sex.”

The court heard that while Thompson had no previous convictions, he had been investigated in January 2024 over an allegation that he sexually assaulted a lap dancer. The woman later withdrew her complaint and no charges were brought.

Judge declares offender dangerous

Defence barrister Anthony O’Donohoe urged the court to remember that his client was previously a man of good character with no criminal record, adding that his immigration status was “subject to review.”

But Judge Brian Cummings KC was unmoved. Sentencing Thompson, who appeared via video link from HMP Liverpool wearing a white Puma t-shirt, the judge declared him a dangerous offender.

“There would remain a significant risk to members of the public of serious harm at the point that you would have otherwise served a fixed term sentence,” he said.

Thompson was jailed for 23 years, with an additional eight years on licence. He must serve two-thirds of the 23-year term before becoming eligible for release by the Parole Board. He will sign the sex offenders’ register for life.

He had admitted sexual assault against his first victim and three counts of rape against the third.