UNITED KINGDOM: David Carrick was sentenced to life in prison for using his authority as a member of the Metropolitan Police to carry out a 17-year campaign of terror and assaults on women.
The 48-year-old was given a life sentence, and before he can even be considered for release, he must complete a minimum term of 32 years, less the time he has already spent behind bars.
“You behaved as if you were untouchable, Justice Cheema-Grubb,” said Carrick in the dock at Southwark Crown Court. You were validated for over 20 years.
She claimed that Carrick had violated his oath to uphold the public’s safety by using his position as a police officer, which gave him “exceptional powers to coerce and control,” for his own “monstrous benefit.”
Carrick, dressed in a dark grey suit and tie, glanced at the judge as she began to speak, but when she described Carrick’s horrific offense, his expressionless face slumped to the floor.
The former Met weapons officer, according to Cheema-Grubb, had a “spectacular downfall” and would now have to deal with a “difficult time in detention.” While some victims watched on a video link, others were there in court.
In addition to rapes, sexual assaults, false imprisonment, and coercive and controlling behavior, which included putting his victims in small cupboards, Carrick had admitted to committing 85 major offenses.
Between 2003 and 2020, he attacked 12 different women, all while serving as a Met police officer. In 2009, he was chosen to carry a rifle and guard legislative and diplomatic locations after he joined the force in 2001.
As a result of several complaints from women, the Met has stated that he should never have been a police officer. Despite this, the force was unable to recognise the threat he posed to women.
On Monday, his victims gave moving testimony at the sentencing hearing; one of them called him evil, while the others said he destroyed their lives or made them feel suicidal.
The prosecution explained how Carrick exploited his position and police tools in his crimes, which the court heard were a series of “violent and brutal attacks” meant to silence his victims.
Before enticing a victim back to his house and raping her there under the threat of a pistol, Carrick claimed to be a police officer and the “safest person” she could be with.
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