Cop accused of 13 rapes 'tied up crying woman and said no one would believe her'

06 February 2024 , 22:27

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Cliff Mitchell (Image: Central News )

A police officer accused of 13 counts of rape used “his powers” against one woman, taunting her that she would not be believed, a court has heard.

Cliff Mitchell, 24, is said to have threatened the woman with a knife, before tying her up with cable ties and putting tape over her mouth.

In a tearful police interview that was played to a jury at London’s Croydon Crown Court, the woman said that Mitchell threatened he would kill her. She said: “He came up to me with a knife to my neck. ‘Do not move or else I will slit your neck right here’. Then he tied my hands with cable ties.”

Mitchell, 24, of Wandsworth, south-west London, is on trial accused of 13 counts of rape, breaching a non-molestation order and two counts of kidnapping. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

The alleged victim told officers that she was crying and he laughed at her during the incident last September. Describing how she felt about Mitchell generally, the woman told the officers that “he was using his powers against me and saying no-one would believe me if I spoke up.”

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The woman, who said he hurled verbal abuse at her, added “it was like it was a game to him” and claimed he said he would hurt her or anyone who would try to help her. Before he allegedly forced her and another person to get into his car, she recalled: “He was saying that he knew how to get rid of bodies because he was a police officer.”

She said: “We got into the car. He had the knife on his lap and he said ‘if you try to get away I will stab you all here and we can all die here together’.” She managed to escape by saying she had to get out of the car because she felt sick.

The court has heard that she was seen running through traffic by members of the public. A female motorist noticed what was going on and managed to get her in her vehicle, the court heard. Prosecutor Catherine Farrelly has told the jury that Mitchell was “a serving officer with the Metropolitan Police” during the “latter part” of the alleged offences.

The charges against Mitchell include six counts of rape against a girl, including three when she was under 13 years old. Among these six charges of rape are three counts which state there were a total of at least 30 other occasions where the girl may have been similarly assaulted.

All of these alleged offences took place between January 2014 and April 2017. Mitchell is also charged with seven counts of rape against a woman between April 2020 and September 2023. He is also charged with breaching a non-molestation order and two counts of kidnapping. The trial continues.

Tom Pettifor