Former Police Officer's Decades of Abuse Exposed
David Carrick, a former armed officer with London's Metropolitan Police, has been found guilty of sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl and repeatedly raping a former partner. The 50-year-old officer, who previously admitted to 71 sexual offences against 12 women, faced new allegations that revealed his pattern of abuse spanning decades.
Historic Child Abuse and Written Confession
The court heard how Carrick sexually assaulted the young girl in the late 1980s when she was just 12 years old. The abuse continued for approximately 18 months before the victim confided in her mother. In a shocking development, prosecutors presented a written confession recovered from Carrick's medical records, signed "Dave," where he admitted the abuse was "true" and claimed he had stopped about four months prior.
In his confession letter, Carrick wrote: "I know how (the girl) must feel. That's why I stopped and promised I would never go near her again and I have kept that promise and I always will." However, during the trial at Old Bailey, Carrick denied these historic allegations, dismissing his young victim as a liar.
Systematic Abuse of Adult Partner
More than twenty years after the child abuse, Carrick began a relationship with a woman he met through a dating website. The court learned that the woman was aware from the beginning that Carrick was a police officer. Initially, she described him as "charming, witty, sarcastic" and acting like "everyone's best friend."
However, their relationship quickly turned toxic. Between 2014 and 2019, Carrick subjected her to what prosecutors called "degrading and humiliating" abuse, including multiple rapes and coercive controlling behavior. The victim told jurors that Carrick had "ruined" her life and permanently damaged her views on sex and relationships.
Police Officer's Facade Crumbles
Prosecutor Tom Little KC told the court that Carrick must have felt "invincible" as a police officer for two decades until everything came "crashing around his ears" in 2022. The former officer had already been handed 36 life sentences in 2023 with a minimum term of 32 years for his previous convictions involving 48 rapes against 12 women over 17 years.
During the recent trial, Carrick declined to give evidence but claimed through prison interviews that sex with the adult victim was consensual. He accused her of being motivated by the MeToo movement, while simultaneously dismissing the child abuse allegations despite his written confession.
Victims' Courage Brings Justice
Senior Crown prosecutor Shilpa Shah described Carrick as "a manipulative, controlling and abusive man who created a facade for the rest of the world." She praised both victims for their bravery in coming forward, noting that this was "one of the most horrific, harrowing cases" she had ever dealt with.
The now-adult child victim described the young Carrick as "very sly" and "manipulative." She recalled how after she told her mother about the abuse, the matter was "brushed under the carpet like it was nothing." When she later learned Carrick had become a police officer, she expressed concern: "God help anyone with him with a warrant card."
Police Response and Institutional Damage
Detective Superintendent Iain Moor of Hertfordshire Constabulary acknowledged that the future could have been very different if Carrick's written confession had been handed to police in 1990. He expressed hope that the convictions would help victims in their recovery and encourage others to come forward.
Mr. Moor also noted that the Carrick case, along with the murder of Sarah Everard by another serving Met officer Wayne Couzens, had been "hugely damaging" to public confidence in the police force. He emphasized that there is "still more work to do" to rebuild trust while urging any other victims of Carrick's abuse to come forward.
The jury deliberated for just five hours before finding Carrick guilty of two charges of rape, one count of sexual assault, and coercive and controlling behavior toward the woman, along with five counts of indecent assault relating to the child victim from the late 1980s.
