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Inside rapist cop David Carrick's 'secret lair' where he locked up women and spied on his victims
6 February 2023, 15:06 | Updated: 6 February 2023, 15:07
Police have released photographs showing the cupboard under the stairs where David Carrick locked up one of his victims to punish her.
Carrick, 48, abused one woman with a whip and locked her in a small cupboard under the stairs inside his home as punishment, while whistling at her 'as if she was a dog'.
The former Met Police officer also installed cameras at his home to spy on his victims while he was working, a court heard today, as the serial rapist faces his two-day sentencing.
Prosecutor Tom Little KC told Southwark Crown Court: "If (the victim) upset the defendant, she would be punished, sometimes by acts of violence and on other occasions she was shut in a small cupboard under the stairs.
"This occurred on a significant number of occasions. On one occasion she asked to get out as she was having a panic attack.
"He would not let her out. They did not communicate whilst she was sat in the cupboard - he would stand outside and whistle at her as if she was a dog."
Carrick admitted 49 sex offences on January 16, after carrying out a number of sickening sexual acts, from locking naked women in a cupboard under his stairs to branding them his "slaves".
He also sent a photograph of himself with a work-issue firearm to one of his victims, saying "remember I am the boss", the court was told.
Continuing to open the case, Mr Little said: "He told her that she belonged to him and the she must obey him.
"He threatened her with his police baton and sent her a photograph of his work-issue firearm saying 'remember I am the boss'.
"He told her that she should obey him and that, if she did, he would give her an amazing life."
One of Carrick's victims recounted how she was told by an A&E nurse that she would be better putting her rape behind her because the case "might not go to court".
Mr Little said the woman attended King's College Hospital with external and internal injuries after being raped by Carrick.
He said: "She was asked who had raped her and she told the nurse that it was a police officer.
"(The victim) told the police that the nurse in A&E told her that she needed to be ready if she was going to complain about it and that even if she did it might not go to court.
"She said as she was young, she might be better to try to put it behind her and move on.
"As a result, (the victim) did not report the matter to the police at the time."
The disgraced cop told one of his victim's that he would be the "last thing she saw" as strangled her.
He then spoke to her about her parents as if nothing had happened before raping her.
Carrick, from Stevenage, Hertfordshire, was a serving officer for 20 years, primarily within the Met's Parliamentary Protection Unit.
His crimes, which spanned a 17 year period, have been condemned by the force, with Assistant Commissioner Barbara Gray adding she is "truly sorry" on behalf of the force for letting the victims of Carrick down.
But his case has drawn anger at the force, which has seen a string of police go into the dock for dreadful crimes.
The criminal cases being brought are said to be a "mix of dishonesty, violence and violence against women and girls", the Met Commissioner said.
The sentence comes as the Met Police announced the criminal investigation into Carrick would continue even after his sentencing, with detectives continuing to sift through information linked to further offences.
One former colleague and anonymous victim, ten years Carrick's senior, spoke with the BBC and labelled the sexual predator "charming", "jolly" and "flirty" upon their first meeting.
"He had only just finished his probation with the Metropolitan Police," she recalled.
"He was a little bit sort of a Jack the Lad. For the length of service he had, I was surprised he was so confident."
Carrick, who was branded "Bastard Dave" by colleagues, used popular dating apps such as Tinder to meet his victims.
He then used his position to lure women and then bully them into keeping quiet about his attacks over an 18-year period, police and prosecutors said.
Carrick would flash his warrant card to convince women they could trust him and told them: "I’m a police officer, you can trust me."
Since his arrested for rape in October 2021, Carrick is believed to have been paid around £60,000 whilst in custody, with many, including London Mayor Sadiq Khan, calling for the former officer to be stripped of his estimated £22,000-a-year pension.