A British policeman, denounced as a serial rapist, imprisoned for life

LONDON — A former London police officer was sentenced on Tuesday to life in prison with a minimum sentence of 30 years for raping and sexually assaulting a dozen women over a 17-year period.

Metropolitan Police officer David Carrick, 48, last month admitted he was a serial rapist in what prosecutors have described as one of the most shocking cases involving a serving police officer.

Carrick, who joined the force in 2001, pleaded guilty to 49 offenses, including 24 counts of rape and charges of assault, attempted rape and forcible confinement. His crimes took place between 2003 and 2020.

At Tuesday’s sentencing hearing, Judge Bobbie Cheema-Grubb said the former officer “took monstrous advantage of women” behind a public appearance of propriety and reliability.

“You brazenly raped and sexually assaulted a number of women, some very brutally, and behaved as if you were untouchable. You were bold and at times relentless, confident that no victim would overcome their shame and fear of reporting you,” the judge told Carrick.

“For nearly two decades you have been right, but now a combination of these 12 women, by coming forward, and your fellow police officers, by acting on their evidence, have exposed you and brought you down,” he said. she added.

The judge said Carrick attempted to kill himself while remanded in a high-security London prison.

The Metropolitan Police have issued an apology to victims after it emerged nine allegations of rape and other crimes were made against Carrick between 2000 and 2021. He was only suspended from the force after his arrest for a rape complaint in 2021.

The case was the latest in a series of scandals aimed at undermining public confidence in the Metropolitan Police, Britain’s largest police force. Authorities have exerted heavy pressure on the police to reform their culture and norms after a series of allegations of misogyny and racism in their ranks.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman, the government’s top police official, said on Tuesday that Carrick’s crimes were “a scar on our police”. An investigation is ongoing into his behavior and the decision-making processes surrounding his control, she said.