David Carrick: female Metropolitan Police officer reveals she was raped by serial sex predator

A serving Metropolitan Police officer has revealed that she was raped by serial sex predator David Carrick.

Carrick, 48, is facing life in prison after he admitted to a horrific series of rapes and sexual offences, which were carried out over more than a decade while he was working for Scotland Yard. During this time, he came to the attention of the force on numerous occasions - but faced no misconduct action nor any criminal sanctions.

It is understood that he wielded his status as a police officer to silence his victims. Now, a female police officer has come forward to reveal that Carrick raped her at his home in Tooting, London, in 2004.

She said she did not initially report the assault because the “culture” within the force made her fear she “would not be believed” - and she worried that taking action against Carrick would have “ruined her career”.

It was not previously known that a member of the Met Police was among Carrick’s twelve victims.

Speaking to The Times, the woman, who has now been serving in the Met for over two decades, said she met Carrick through the force in 2004. The two started spending time together at the end of their shifts.

She described Carrick - aged in his late 20s at the time - as a “womaniser” with “an incredibly big ego”, explaining: “He was the guy who would slap a woman’s arse as they walked past or blow kisses. It was the culture - quite a few male police officers did that.”

The female police officer also said his behaviour towards her was controlling. “He always had his eyes on me, on what I was up to, and who I was talking to - especially male members of the public,” she said, adding that if Carrick saw her chatting to other male officers at work, he would come over and listen.

One night after a long shift, Carrick invited the woman to his home in Tooting. This is where he raped her.

“It wasn’t violent but it was forced,” she told The Times. “I said ‘no’ numerous times but for him it was a ‘yes’. I didn’t fight back — I didn’t feel I could. I felt violated. I was very angry that I allowed it to happen. He certainly had no regrets or expressed remorse. He fell asleep and the next morning I told him, ‘That’s never going to happen again.’”

She and Carrick worked together for another two weeks after the assault, during which time the woman “made a point of never being alone in his presence” - and he reportedly ignored her. Then, the two returned to their respective boroughs, and the woman did not see Carrick again until 2021, when his face appeared on Sky News after a rape allegation had come to light.

“I instantly recognised him,” she said. “I stared at the screen in shock.” She then reported what had happened to her in 2004.

The officer explained that she did not come forward at the time because she feared she would not be believed - and thought reporting the rape could even damage her career. “We answered the phones and made the tea,” she said. “Women weren’t encouraged to speak up about officers’ misconduct. It was drummed into us.”

She also told The Times that she feels guilty about not coming forward, as though she “let the other victims down.” She said: “I’m a police officer [and] I’m meant to protect them. If I had reported it, maybe I could have prevented Carrick’s attacks on more victims. Maybe I could have stopped him?”

However, speaking to ITV, the officer admitted she did not think it would have made a difference - both because very few rape cases made it to court at the time, and because of the force’s culture. “I knew a male officer’s and female officer’s word against one another was never going to go my way. No one was going to believe me over him. I saw it as the end of my career and potentially a very difficult time so, no, I wasn’t going to say anything.”

Now that Carrick has been convicted, the officer said she feels “glad that [he] has been seen for exactly what he is.” She continued: “I hope he receives a very long sentence and it gives closure to his victims. I’m sure there are others who are yet to come forward but I hope they find the strength to do so. It’s never too late.”

Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley has praised the officer for opening up about her ordeal. He said: “This woman has shown incredible bravery – I fully support her decision to share her experiences and courageously speak out about the abuse she endured. We know that many victims and survivors of sexual violence and abuse suffer in silence.

“We are determined not only to root out those who corrupt the Met, but to do everything we can to ensure women, both those who work at the Met and Londoners, have more confidence to report domestic and sexual abuse – and to know that when they come forward, action will be taken.”

Rowley previously called Carrick’s case a “spectacular failure” by his force, as several opportunities to root him out were missed. Carrick passed the initial vetting despite being the suspect in a previous police investigation into his behaviour towards an ex-girlfriend, and did not face misconduct proceedings during his policing career despite facing a series of allegations from women.

The Met is now reviewing 1,633 claims made against around 1,000 officers and staff members, and has been asked to check all of its officers against national crime databases.