London, England.- An agent of an elite London body admitted to having committed dozens of rapes and sexual assaults for almost two decades, in one of the cases that have shaken the London Police the most.
David Carrick, 48, who worked for a special unit of Scotland Yard dedicated to protecting foreign parliamentarians and diplomats, pleaded guilty in court on Monday to four crimes of rape, in addition to illegal detention and indecent assault against a woman 40 years old in 2003.
During a hearing in London, it was revealed that the police officer had already admitted to 43 charges against 11 other women in December, 20 of them for rape, between 2003 and 2020.
Prosecutor Jaswant Narwal called the case “one of the most shocking I have ever had to deal with involving an on-duty police officer.”
Carrick will be sentenced at a hearing scheduled for early February, the magistrate said.
The murder of Sarah Everard
“On behalf of the Metropolitan Police, I want to apologize to the women who suffered at the hands of David Carrick,” said London Police Deputy Commissioner Barbara Gray, praising the courage of the victims in deciding to testify about these attacks following the officer’s arrest in October 2021 for a first violation.
Carrick is a “prolific serial sex offender” who wrecked their lives and undermined trust in police, he said.
“We should have detected his behavior and, because we didn’t, we lost opportunities to remove him (from the body),” he added, specifying that the case was referred to Scotland Yard’s internal control body to investigate what happened.
During the hearing it was learned that the London Police had been made aware of several accusations of rape, domestic violence and harassment against the agent, despite which no criminal sanctions or internal disciplinary measures were imposed on him until his arrest.
The once-reputable Metropolitan Police has come under harsh criticism in recent years over the conduct of its officers, especially since the kidnapping, rape and murder of 33-year-old Englishwoman Sarah Everard in south London in March 2021 by the Agent Wayne Couzens, who also worked in the diplomatic protection squad.
This case, which shocked the United Kingdom in full lockdown against Covid-19, revealed that the police hierarchy had not paid attention to the multiple alarm signals about Couzens’ disturbing behavior.
humiliation and submission
London Mayor Sadiq Khan declared himself “disgusted and appalled” by Carrick’s crimes.
According to investigators, the officer met some of his victims through dating apps and social events and used his position as a police officer to gain their trust.
The officer acknowledged having raped for months, in some cases, a dozen women. He would lock his victims in a small closet under the stairs of his house for hours, without food.
He called some of them “slaves”, whom he controlled financially and isolated from those close to him.
“It is incredible to think that these crimes could have been committed by an active police officer,” Chief Inspector Iain Moor declared at the gates of the court, without ruling out that other victims now decide to report more attacks.
“He liked to humiliate them and used his professional position to make it clear to them that it was useless to seek help because no one would believe them.”
A report published in November revealed deficiencies in the selection and control of London Police officers, among whom misogynistic and sexist behavior was reported.
“Police forces must root out these officers to restore the trust broken by cases like this,” said a spokesman for the Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak.
