An armed officer with London’s Metropolitan Police has admitted to being a prolific serial rapist in court.
David Carrick, an armed officer who served in the London Metropolitan Police’s parliamentary and diplomatic protection command, reportedly pleaded guilty to two dozen rapes over the span of two decades.
The force has since apologised for the officer’s conduct, as well as the fact that there were signs that Carrick serially abused and sexually assaulted women during his time in the force.
According to a report by the British state-owned broadcaster, the BBC, the 48-year-old was only finally suspended from duty in 2021 after one woman came forward to accuse him of rape.
Upon the publication of his name in the media, 12 more women reportedly came forward alleging various instances of sexual abuse, including rape and false imprisonment.
As of Monday, Carrick has now pleaded guilty to a total of 49 offences levelled against him, including a total of 24 instances of rape said to have taken place between 2003 and 2020.
Reportedly nicknamed “Bastard Dave” by his colleagues for his “cruel” behaviour, the London police force was reportedly given numerous opportunities to figure out something was wrong over the last two decades, with multiple sexually-related complaints being filed against Carrick during his time in the force.
“We should have spotted his pattern of abusive behaviour and because we didn’t, we missed opportunities to remove him from the organisation,” London Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Barbara Gray said, apologising for the force’s failure to catch the sexual predator within their midst.
“We are truly sorry that being able to continue to use his role as a police officer may have prolonged the suffering of his victims,” she added.
Carrick is also said to have used his position as a police officer to gain the trust of women he later raped, reportedly introducing himself to some women with the line: “I’m a police officer, you’re safe with me”.
Apart from numerous rapes, the police officer is said to have imprisoned some of his victims in a downstairs cupboard in his home for what is described as significant lengths of time without food.
DCI Iain Moor, who led the investigation, described the cupboard as being extremely small, saying that he had seen “bigger dog crates”.
The serial rapist would also often intimidate his victims, telling them that they were his “slave”, forbidding them from speaking with other men and sometimes their own children, while also telling them that they would not be believed if they went to the police.
“He invested time in developing relationships with women to sustain his appetite for degradation and control,” Moor remarked regarding the activities of Carrick.
“The coercive nature of his offending undermined his victims in the most destructive way,” he added.