Judge blasts ‘malign influence’ of men like jailed rapist Met Pc David Carrick

Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb said the disgraced Pc, 48, acted like he was “untouchable” and used his job to take “monstrous advantage of women” over 17 years.

Carrick, who was described as a “monster” and “evil” by some of his dozen victims, “brazenly raped and sexually assaulted” them between 2003 and 2020, the judge said.

Carrick, one of the country’s worst sex offenders, joined the Met in 2001 before becoming an armed officer with the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command in 2009.

Footage released by Hertfordshire Police shows him topless at his home in Stevenage complaining, “I have only been a police officer for 20 years” when he was arrested on suspicion of rape in October 2021.

He pleaded guilty to 49 charges, including 24 counts of rape, but some are multiple-incident counts, meaning they relate to at least 85 separate offences, including at least 71 sexual offences and 48 rapes.

Carrick held a handgun to the head of one of his victims before raping her – and sent another a photograph of himself with a work-issue firearm, saying: “Remember I am the boss.”

In a televised sentencing hearing at Southwark Crown Court on Tuesday, Carrick was handed 36 life sentences with a minimum term of 32 years – minus his time spent on remand.

A spokeswoman for the Attorney General’s Office said it had received “multiple requests” under the Unduly Lenient Sentence Scheme since the hearing.

Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb told him his crimes were aggravated by the “use and abuse” of his role and said he “reassured, tricked or intimidated” his victims, “abusing the trust that the public vest in police officers”.

“These women are not weak or ineffectual,” she said.

“They were victims of your criminal mindset.

“The malign influence of men like you in positions of power stands in the way of a revolution of women’s dignity.

“It is remarkable that with one woman being driven to report an allegation against you, despite your position and power, others felt able to act.

“Even today, courage calls to courage everywhere and its voice cannot be denied.”

The judge told Carrick his convictions represent “a spectacular downfall for a man charged with upholding the law and empowered to do so even to the extent of being authorised to bear a firearm in the execution of your duty”.

“Behind a public appearance of propriety and trustworthiness you took monstrous advantage of women,” she said.

“You brazenly raped and sexually assaulted a number of women, some you barely knew, and you behaved as if you were untouchable.

“You were bold and at times relentless, trusting that no victim would overcome her shame and fear to report you.

“For nearly two decades, you were proved right. But now a combination of those 12 women, by coming forward, and your police colleagues, by acting on their evidence, have exposed you and brought you low.

“You have lost your liberty, your job and your status. You have before you the prospect of a difficult time in custody for many years.”

Carrick sat in the dock with his eyes closed and head bowed during the hearing in a packed courtroom, where some of his victims sat, and showed no emotion as he was sentenced.

The court was told he tried to kill himself while on remand at Belmarsh prison last February and was detained in a secure hospital before being returned to prison after a mental disorder was ruled out.

The judge told him: “You were driven to try to commit suicide as a self-pitying reaction to the shame brought on you by these proceedings rather than remorse.”

Home Secretary Suella Braverman described Carrick’s crimes, which were carried out while he was a serving Met officer, as a “scar on our police”.

“It is vital we uncover how he was able to wear the uniform for so long,” she said.

Carrick passed vetting checks to carry a gun and guard sites including embassies and the Houses of Parliament and even took a training course on domestic abuse in 2005.

The Met was forced to apologise and admit he should have been rooted out earlier after it emerged he came to police attention over nine separate incidents between 2000 and 2021 – and was known to colleagues as “Bastard Dave”.

Complaints included allegations of rape, domestic violence and harassment – with all but one relating to his behaviour towards women.

Carrick faced no criminal sanctions or misconduct findings and police chiefs across England and Wales have since been asked to have all officers checked against national police databases by the end of March.

He was finally sacked from the force last month after his final guilty pleas. His crimes are set to form part of the independent inquiry looking at the murder of Sarah Everard, who was raped and strangled by then-serving Met officer Wayne Couzens in March 2021.

The case is the latest in a string of damaging scandals for the Met, including Ms Everard’s murder, racist and misogynist messages exchanged by a team at Charing Cross and the strip-search of a teenager at school while she was menstruating.

Met commissioner Sir Mark Rowley described Carrick’s crimes as “unspeakably evil” and admitted: “He should not have been a police officer.

“We weren’t rigorous enough in our approach and as a result we missed opportunities to identify the warning signs over decades.”

Sir Mark said the Met is “truly sorry”, adding: “We have let down women across London but we are more determined than ever to put it right.”

The Centre for Women’s Justice said it is exploring potential legal action against the Met with some of David Carrick’s victims.

One of the women said in a statement released through the campaign group: “He is a beast and he will be kept in an enclosure.

“But it is shameful that the ones who were in charge of his vetting, in a way allowed this predator to keep hunting, by using the cover of the police.

“I feel that they are responsible for what happened to us.”

Hertfordshire Police have set up a special portal to encourage other potential victims of Carrick to come forward.

Detective Inspector Iain Moor said: “As a serving police officer he has brought shame on the profession and was not fit to wear the uniform, but I hope that our determination to get justice for the victims in this case will go some way to reassuring the public that nobody is above the law and we will bring people like David Carrick to justice.”

National Police Chiefs’ Council chairman Martin Hewitt said people should now “expect to see more investigations launched, more sanctions, more sackings and more charges”.