Britain woke up, on Monday morning, to a new scandal that quickly turned into a public opinion issue preoccupying people, as a police officer admitted that he had committed 24 rapes, of which 12 were women, during his 17-year tenure in the security service.
In the details collected by Al-Arabiya.net from various media outlets, officer David Carrick (48 years old) pleaded guilty and admitted to committing 49 different crimes during the period from 2003 to 2020, including 24 rapes, with 12 women as victims.
An apology to the victims
British police issued an apology to the victims after it emerged that Carrick had reported nine incidents, including allegations of rape, domestic violence and harassment, between 2001 and 2021.
But he did not face criminal penalties or misconduct consequences, and he was only suspended from work in October last year after his arrest as a result of a second rape complaint to the police.
Carrick, who previously served in the army, joined the London Metropolitan Police in 2001 before being promoted to armed officer in the Parliamentary and Specialized Diplomatic Protection Command in 2009.
He pleaded guilty to a series of offenses against a 40-year-old woman when he appeared at Southwark Magistrates’ Court. Earlier, he confessed to 43 charges against 11 other women between March 2004 and September 2020.
on online dating sites
In addition, information received by the court in London revealed that Carrick met some of his victims on dating sites on the Internet or at social events, and convinced them that he could be trusted because he was a police officer.
According to the confessions, he would bring his victims to his home and keep them for hours without food, and some of them were forced to clean the house while they were naked while he mocked them, describing them as “fat and lazy.”
He also referred to himself as the “dominant”, controlling the victims financially, isolating them from their loved ones, and preventing them from speaking to other men or their children.
‘shocking’ case
London Mayor Sadiq Khan said he was “absolutely sickened” by Carrick’s crimes, stressing that police must answer “serious questions” about how he was allowed to abuse his position.
While the official spokesman for the Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, described the case as “horrific”, adding that the Prime Minister sympathizes with the victims and thinks of them.
London Police spokeswoman Barbara Gray said: “On behalf of the Metropolitan Police Service, I am truly sorry these victims have suffered at the hands of a police officer.”
In turn, Detective Chief Inspector Ian Moore made it clear that he expected more victims to file complaints, according to the local newspaper, “Metro”, published in London.