Met police officer admits 49 sex crimes including 24 rapes in horrific campaign of abuse spanning 17 years

16 January 2023, 11:12 | Updated: 16 January 2023, 16:19

A serving Metropolitan Police officer has admitted 49 offences, including 24 counts of rape, against women between 2003 and 2020.

David Carrick admitted multiple counts of rape, violence and sexual assault against 12 women at Southwark Crown Court today.

Carrick, 48 had already pleaded guilty to 43 charges, including 20 counts of rape, in December, although legal restrictions meant this could not be reported at the time.

Carrick, who was an armed PC in the parliamentary and diplomatic protection unit of the Met, used his position to lure women and then bully them into keeping quiet about his attacks over a 17-year period, police and prosecutors said.

The Met has apologised to victims after it came out that Carrick's attacks had come to their attention over nine incidents including allegations of rape, domestic violence, and harassment between 2000 and 2021.

Detective Chief Inspector Iain Moor, from Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Major Crime Unit, said the "sheer number of offences" showed Carrick's "prolific and callous nature". He added that he expects even more victims to come forward.

Carrick met some of his victims through online dating sites such as Tinder and Badoo, or out socially.

DCI Moor said: "Whilst he was not a man that stalked the streets scouting for victims - he invested time in developing relationships with women to sustain his appetite for degradation and control - the coercive nature of his offending undermined his victims in the most destructive way."

Carrick admitted to raping nine of the women. Some of the attacks took place over months or years, injuring the victims in some cases.

Carrick locked some of the victims in a small cupboard under the stairs in his Hertfordshire home for hours without food and forced them to clean his house naked.

He whipped one woman with a belt, urinated on some of his victims, and told them when they could eat and sleep.

The officer controlled women's finances, and called them "fat and lazy" or his "slave".

He isolated them from their friends and family, and did not let them speak to other men or even their own children.

"He thrived on humiliating his victims and cleverly used his professional position to intimate there was no point in them trying to seek help because they would never be believed," DCI Moor said.

"The coercive nature of his offending undermined his victims in the most destructive way."

Mr Moor called the false imprisonment"shocking", adding: "Carrick forced his victim into a small under-stairs cupboard at his home address where they stayed intimidated and humiliated until he chose when they could come out. I have seen bigger dog crates."

"It is unbelievable to think these offences could have been committed by a serving police officer," he said.

"The offending was absolutely abhorrent and I'm disgusted by it. I have a lot of pride and respect in the police service and I'm proud to be a policeman.

"When something like this happens, it obviously places a big cloud over the service as a whole.

"But I'm hoping that as a result of the thorough investigation that we've done and the fact that he's been brought to justice will hopefully give people the confidence to be able to report matters to the police."

But the Met is facing questions over how it handled complaints about Carrick's behaviour.

Carrick faced no criminal sanctions or misconduct findings over the complaints, and was only suspended after being arrested over a second rape complaint in October 2021.

He was able to pass two vetting processes, in 2001 and 2017, despite already having been accused of harassment several times by the second check.

Two officers who dealt with an allegation of assault against Carrick in 2002 may be guilty of misconduct, according to the police watchdog.

But the Independent Office for Police Conduct said that it was not in the public interest to take further action, as the two officers have since retired from the force.

Assistant commissioner Barbara Gray, the Met’s lead for professionalism, said: “On behalf of the Metropolitan Police, I want to apologise to the women who have suffered at the hands of David Carrick.

“I commend their outstanding bravery in coming forward and reporting the horrific crimes they were victims of.

“Carrick is a prolific, serial sex offender who preyed on women over a period of many years, abusing his position as a police officer and committing the most horrific, degrading crimes.

“He has devastated women’s lives. He has had a devastating impact on the trust and confidence of women and girls that we are working so hard to earn. He has devastated colleagues."

In total Carrick pleaded guilty to 49 offences, relating to 12 women between 2003 and 2020:

• 24 counts of rape
• Nine counts of sexual assault
• Five counts of assault by penetration
• Three counts of coercive and controlling behaviour
• Three counts of false imprisonment
• Two counts of attempted rape
• One count of attempted sexual assault by penetration
• One count of causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent
• One count of indecent assault

Carrick denied a further count of rape in September 2020 relating to a 13th woman. The Crown Prosecution Service decided it was not in the public interest to proceed to trial on that charge.

They include the rape of nine different women, but some of the charges are multiple incident counts, meaning they relate to more than 80 sexual offences, including at least 48 rapes.

Carrick will be sentenced over two days from February 6.

Downing Street and City Hall both condemned Carrick's "appalling" crimes.

A spokesman for Rishi Sunak said that the Prime Minister's thoughts were "with all of his victims".

He added: "We have been clear, there is no place in our police forces for officers who fall so seriously short of the acceptable standards of behaviour and are not fit to wear the uniform.

"Police forces must root out these officers to restore the public's trust, which has been shattered by high-profile events such as this."

London mayor Sadiq Khan said he was "absolutely sickened and appalled" by Carrick's offences.

"Londoners will be rightly shocked that this man was able to work for the Met for so long, and serious questions must be answered about how he was able to abuse his position as an officer in this horrendous manner," he added.

Mr Khan backed calls for police to be able to sack criminal officers more easily.

"It's vital that all victims of crime have confidence in our police, and we simply must do more to raise standards and empower police leaders to rid the Met and all other police services of those officers who are clearly unfit to serve," he said.

Labour's shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said: "This is a truly shocking and appalling case - with the most devastating rapes, sexual and violent crimes committed against women by a serving police officer. It is a tribute to the bravery of his victims that this man has now been caught.

"But it is further evidence of appalling failures in the police vetting and misconduct processes, still not addressed by Government, that he was ever able to serve as a police officer. Everyone who demanded change will feel badly let down today."

Shilpa Shah, the Senior Crown Prosecutor in the case, said: "With a vast number of charges for rape and serious sexual assault... this is one of the most significant cases the Crown Prosecution Service has dealt with.

"It was harrowing seeing how victims were relentlessly manipulated; they were financially cut off and isolated from their friends and family and repeatedly raped and sexually assaulted. Carrick took so much from them both physically and mentally.

"It didn't matter to Carrick who the victim was - a new girlfriend, a partner, a friend or a stranger - he would still abuse them.

"Although the names of the women who showed tremendous courage in overcoming this manipulation to report these abhorrent crimes won't ever be made public, they need to be commended, and I want to thank them for coming forward and providing the evidence we needed to secure today's conviction and end Carrick's offending."

It comes as more than 1,600 cases of alleged sexual offences or domestic violence involving Met officers and staff are reviewed in the wake of the Carrick case.

The force said that accusations ranging from arguments to the most serious sexual crimes from the last ten years are being checked to make sure that the appropriate decisions were made.

A total of 1,633 cases involving 1,071 officers and staff are set to be reviewed. The force said that most officers whose cases are reviewed will remain on duty without being subject to restrictions while the inquiries are carried out.

A spokesman said: "In the event that information was to emerge from a review that raised concerns then an officer or member of staff's status would be reconsidered without delay.

"All new allegations against officers and staff are subject to robust risk management including restrictions and suspension where appropriate."

The Met has already faced heavy criticism of its internal disciplinary procedures with Baroness Casey finding the system is racist and misogynist, and that allegations of sexual misconduct or discrimination are less likely to result in a case to answer than other claims.