David Carrick (serial Rapist)

David Carrick (born 4 January 1975) is an English serial rapist and former police officer who worked for the Metropolitan Police. He joined the police force in 2001 and worked as an armed officer in the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection (PaDP) branch from 2009 until his suspension and subsequent sacking from his position in 2021. An independent public inquiry into the case is being chaired by Lady Elish Angiolini.

Following his arrest, Carrick pleaded guilty to multiple counts of rape between 2002 and 2021. In 2023, he was sentenced to life imprisonment, with a minimum term of more than thirty years.

Early life and education

David Carrick was born in Salisbury, Wiltshire, on 4 January 1975. At the time of his birth, Carrick's parents, a cleaner and a Royal Artillery soldier, lived at Bulford military camp in Wiltshire. After the birth of his sister, the family moved to nearby Durrington. Carrick went to Durrington comprehensive school. His parents divorced when he was a teenager.

Career and criminality

After a short career in the British Army, Carrick became an officer with the Metropolitan Police (Met) in 2001, initially serving as a response officer in South London, before he joined the armed Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection (PaDP) branch in 2009.

Although both the Met and other British police forces received multiple complaints about his behaviour, including an investigation for domestic abuse in 2002, Carrick was re-certified to remain an armed police officer in 2017. Work colleagues gave Carrick the nickname 'Bastard Dave', due to his propensity for cruelty.

Between 2003 and 2020, Carrick abused and raped multiple women he met using the dating sites Badoo and Tinder, often in Hertfordshire. Using his job as a police officer to gain their trust and inflate his apparent importance, he developed several abusive relationships. Carrick degraded his victims via physical abuse with a belt, imprisonment in small spaces, urinating on them and rape. In some cases he controlled what his victims wore, when or what they ate and where they slept. He would sometimes ban them from eating altogether.

In October 2021, a woman reported to the police that Carrick had date raped her a year earlier, deciding to come forward the day after Wayne Couzens, who served in the same unit as Carrick, was sentenced for the rape and murder of Sarah Everard.

Legal proceedings

On 2 October 2021, Carrick was arrested at his home in Hertfordshire. On body-worn video, he is heard to say: "There's no necessity", regarding his arrest. Carrick was suspended from police work.

Forty officers and staff were assigned to Carrick's case, all were required to give written undertakings not to disclose information about the case, in order to stop leaks from reaching the press. Carrick initially pleaded not guilty to all the charges. In May 2022, he was held on remand at HM Prison Belmarsh in south-east London. In December 2022, at the Old Bailey criminal court in Central London, Carrick then pleaded guilty to 49 charges, including 24 of rape; the charges related to twelve female victims. On 16 January 2023, at Southwark Crown Court, he pleaded guilty to four more charges of rape.

Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London, reacted with a statement that he was "absolutely sickened and appalled". Crown Prosecution Service Chief Prosecutor Jaswant Narwal was quoted as stating "the scale of the degradation Carrick subjected his victims to is unlike anything I have encountered in my 34 years with the Crown Prosecution Service".

In the wake of Carrick's conviction, the Metropolitan Police said the force was re-examining past claims of domestic abuse or sexual offences against its officers and staff, affecting about 1,000 of its 45,000 employees.

Carrick's sentencing hearing at Southwark Crown Court began on 6 February 2023. The following day, he received 36 life sentences with a minimum term of 30 years plus 239 days, meaning he must serve that time in prison before becoming eligible for parole. He will become eligible for parole on 2 May 2052.

Outline of victims, offending, offences and sentences

The following details regarding the victims and the background to the offences, as well as the specific counts on the indictments and sentences are taken from the sentencing remarks by sentencing judge Bobbie Cheema-Grubb:

On 8 February 2023, the Attorney General's Office announced that, after "multiple requests", they would be reviewing the sentence under the Unduly Lenient Sentence Scheme. On 3 March, Michael Tomlinson, the Solicitor-General for England and Wales, said that he was satisfied sentencing judge Bobbie Cheema-Grubb "gave careful and detailed consideration to all the features of this case" when deciding how much time Carrick would spend in prison, and that the sentencing would not be sent to the Court of Appeal for review.

In July 2023 it was announced that six of Carrick's victims were intending to sue the Metropolitan Police for breaching their human rights by failing to investigate properly.

On 20 July 2023 the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) announced that it was starting four investigations into the way the Metropolitan Police had handled complaints against Carrick. The IOPC also announced that it was conducting a similar investigation into Wiltshire Police. On 18 October 2023, it was reported that a total of 12 serving and former police officers were being investigated for misconduct in relation to the handling of allegations made against Carrick. On 7 June 2024, it was reported that two police officers from Wiltshire Police had been issued with final written warnings over how they had failed to investigate an allegation of sexual abuse made against Carrick in 2016.

On 7 October 2024, it was reported that Carrick had been charged with more offences. These included five counts of indecent assault of a girl under 14 in Salisbury that are alleged to have taken place in 1989 and 1990. Carrick was also charged with two counts of rape, one count of sexual assault and one count of coercive and controlling behaviour of another woman between 2014 and 2019 in Stevenage. He appeared at Westminster Magistrates Court on 17 October 2024. On 14 November 2024, he appeared at the Old Bailey via videolink from HMP Full Sutton, where he pleaded not guilty to all of the new charges. Mark Lucraft KC, the Recorder of London, set a provisional trial date of 3 November 2025 and another pre-trial hearing was due to take place on 14 March 2025. On 14 March 2025, Carrick appeared at the Old Bailey via videolink. Lucraft confirmed 3 November as the trial date for the new charges and a further hearing would take place on 27 June 2025.

Personal life

Before being jailed, Carrick lived in Stevenage, Hertfordshire. While being held on remand, he reportedly attempted suicide.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carrick, David
1975 births
Living people
20th-century British Army personnel
21st-century English criminals
British Army soldiers
British police officers convicted of crimes
Police officers convicted of rape
Criminals from Wiltshire
English people convicted of indecent assault
English people convicted of rape
English prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment
21st-century Metropolitan Police officers
Rape in the 2000s
Rape in the 2010s
Rape in the 2020s
People from Salisbury
Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by England and Wales
Military personnel from Salisbury
Inmates of HM Prison Belmarsh