Ex-Met officer David Carrick handed 37th life sentence for sex crimes

Predatory ex-police officer David Carrick has been handed his 37th life sentence after being convicted of sexual abuse dating back 35 years.

Carrick, 50, who served as an armed officer in the Metropolitan Police, was a teenager when he molested a 12-year-old child in the late 1980s.

More than 20 years later and while working as a police officer, he repeatedly raped and abused a woman during the course of a toxic relationship.

The offences came to light after he pleaded guilty in 2022 and 2023 to 71 sexual offences, including 48 rapes, against 12 other women over 17 years.

Carrick, who denied the fresh allegations, is already serving 36 life sentences in 2023 with a minimum term of 32 years.

On Thursday, Mrs Justice McGowan handed Carrick another life sentence with a minimum term of 30 years to run concurrently.

He was sentenced at the Old Bailey after being found guilty of two charges of rape and one of sexual assault and coercive and controlling behaviour towards the woman between 2014 and 2019.

The defendant, formerly of Stevenage in Hertfordshire, was found guilty of five counts of indecent assault relating to the girl in the late 1980s.

Sentencing, Mrs Justice McGowan recognised the “courage and resilience” of the victims.

She noted Carrick’s “cynical willingness” for the two women to be forced to give evidence in court because of his continued denial of wrongdoing

The judge said that failure to act on a written confession to abusing the 12-year-old girl that the then-teenaged Carrick made in 1990 had consequences for his future crimes.

She told Carrick: “You were able to admit what you did but despite that you changed the meaning of that confession in these proceedings.

“The confession was not acted on in a way that may have prevented you from attacking and raping many other women.

“They were the first examples to come to light of your disposition to commit predatory sexual crimes.”

She added: “I have no doubt that you are dangerous and the life sentences on an earlier occasion are fully merited.”

In statements read to the court, the victims described the ongoing trauma from Carrick’s abuse and the lifelong effect his actions had on their lives.

The woman who was molested as a child had difficulty trusting people and forming relationships, the court was told.

She said: “The public revelations of David’s actions caused me to relive my trauma which severely impacted my mental health.

“I do not believe David has any remorse for his actions. He tries to blame his past home life for what he has done.

“Although his actions and the depravity are now known the impact on my life is far from over.”

The woman who was raped by Carrick during a formative relationship  described the feeling of viewing herself through a “looking glass”.

Her experiences had the effect of  “rewriting” her understanding of future relationships and doubting herself.

She grieved for the life she might have had, and said in her statement: “I did not get the chance to learn love in the way most people do – I learned survival instead.

“I fight through fear, through memories, through the exhaustion trauma leaves behind.”

Following the sentencing, Deputy Assistant Commissioner Andy Valentine issued an apology on behalf of the Metropolitan Police.

He said: “David Carrick has been found guilty of further appalling offences against two more victims. His actions bring shame on the uniform he should never have been allowed to wear.

“We heard from one of the victims in this trial, as we did when he pleaded guilty to a catalogue of charges in February 2023, how he grossly misused the position of trust he was given to control and abuse women.

“We have acknowledged that he was able to do so because serious flaws in our approach meant we did not spot his pattern of abusive behaviour. As a result, we missed opportunities to pursue him through the misconduct process which is a source of deep regret.

“The women who have been victims of Carrick’s offending have shown incredible courage in stepping forward to seek justice. We reiterate our sincere apology to them.”

During the trial, jurors heard how Carrick abused a young girl for about 18 months before she told her mother what was going on.

He confessed in a letter which was recovered from his medical records and signed “Dave”.

In it, Carrick wrote that the girl was “not crazy” and that it was “true”, but that he had stopped about four months previously.

Giving evidence in court, the victim said: “When I heard he was a Metropolitan Police officer, the words I have always used were: ‘God help anyone with him with a warrant card’.”

The second victim met Carrick through a dating website and was aware from the start he was a police officer.

At first she found him “charming” but during their relationship he became controlling and raped her on multiple occasions.

She told jurors that she had been left traumatised and that Carrick had “ruined” her life and tainted her views on sex and relationships.

When interviewed in Full Sutton prison in Yorkshire, Carrick claimed that sex with the woman was consensual and accused her of being motivated by the MeToo movement.

Despite his written confession, he dismissed the historic child abuse allegations, claiming the girl was a liar.

Following the verdicts, senior Crown prosecutor Shilpa Shah said: “I would describe David Carrick as a manipulative, controlling and abusive man who created a facade for the rest of the world so that no-one would realise what he was doing behind closed doors.

“He was aggressive, abusive, violent, and yet he appeared to be charming and charismatic. He didn’t count on his victims coming forward and exposing him as they have, and I’d like to thank them for doing so.”

Detective Superintendent Iain Moor, of Hertfordshire Constabulary,  said: “I’m pleased that we’ve been able to get justice for the victims.

“This was all about them and ensuring that they had a voice, and that they were able to tell their story and be believed. Hopefully it will help them with their recovery.”

Police have urged any other victims of Carrick’s sexual offending to come forward.