A Metropolitan police officer has admitted to being a serial rapist

Trigger warning: this article contains themes of sexual violence

A member of the Metropolitan Police, PC David Carrick, has admitted to being a serial rapist, pleading guilty to 49 attacks against 12 women, over two decades.

The 48-year-old police officer who serves with the Met Police's parliamentary and diplomatic command, pleaded guilty to four counts of rape, indecent assault and false imprisonment, today, at Southwark Crown Court.

PC Carrick had already pleaded guilty to 43 charges against him in December. 

His list of admitted offences now includes: 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 indecent assault and one count of causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent.

This, it has been reported, makes Carrick "one of the worst sexual offenders in modern history".

"This is one of the most shocking cases the Crown Prosecution Service has dealt with involving a serving police officer," stated Chief Crown Prosecutor Jaswant Narwal. "Carrick held a role where he was trusted with the responsibility of protecting the public, yet over 17 years in his private life he did the exact opposite.

"This is a man who relentlessly degraded, belittled, sexually assaulted and raped women."

"[Carrick] 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", stated Detective Chief Inspector Iain Moor, the senior investigating officer.

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

The Met Police has since confirmed that PC David Carrick "had come to the attention of the Met and other forces on nine occasions prior to October 2021 [when he was first arrested]".

The incidents included allegations of rape and domestic violence, but Carrick reportedly did not face any penalties.

The force has also confirmed that while serving with the Met, Carrick was the subject of five complaints from members of the public.

Following Carrick's guilty pleas today, Assistant Commissioner at the Met, Barbara Gray, made a public apology.

“Carrick is a prolific, serial sex offender who preyed on women over a period of 17 years, abusing his position as a police officer and committing the most horrific, degrading crimes."

She continued: “He used the fact he was a police officer to control and coerce his victims. We know they felt unable to come forward sooner because he told them they would not be believed. We should have spotted his pattern of abusive behaviour and because we didn’t, we missed opportunities to remove him from the organisation.

“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.”

The process to sack Carrick as a Metropolitan police officer will begin on Tuesday 17 January. Carrick will be sentenced next month on 6 February.

We will continue to update this story.