Victims of rapist David Carrick want answers as they speak of relief he's jailed
A number of David Carrick's victims have hit out at the Metropolitan Police as they warn they are exploring potential legal action against the force and want a full inquiry.
The former officer has been jailed for 30 years for attacking a dozen women in an "unrestrained campaign of rape and abuse" over an 18-year period.
The moment he was arrested while arrogantly telling police officers he has been on the force for two decades was released today.
Now, the Centre for Women’s Justice are speaking with a number of victims of twisted Carrick.
Some of those he attacked have reacted to his sentencing and demand a statutory inquiry.
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David Carrick was unmasked as one of Britain's most prolific sex offenders (REX/Shutterstock)They say one client - known as Joanna, which is not her real name - was repeatedly raped, abused and controlled over a period of time by Carrick.
She said via the charity: “For the first time since my ordeal began, I feel able to hold my head up and walk proudly. It feels like the shadows of the past have finally disappeared after hounding me for the last seven years.
"I feel lighter, both mentally and physically. I feel liberated and relieved.
"I am relieved to know he won’t be posing a danger to anyone else, anymore. He is a beast and he will be kept in an enclosure. But it is shameful that the ones who were in charge of his vetting, in a way allowed this predator to keep hunting, by using the cover of the police.
Carrick sent a victim photos of himself posing with a police firearm (SWNS)"I feel that they are responsible for what happened to us. Yes, it was him who hurt us, but it was they who didn’t stop him in the first place, despite having many chances to do so.
"It was their job to vet him and to investigate him. Instead, they let him carry on and abuse so many more of us.”
Another victim, “Emma” - also not her real name - met Carrick in 2017 and kept her prisoner in his home for nearly a year, said today: “Justice has prevailed, he has got the sentence he deserves. But now we need answers from the Metropolitan Police and we need to see real change."
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley today said the police force has "let down women" after disgraced officer Carrick was handed 36 life sentences.
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley is facing further questions (PA)The commissioner called the former officer's crimes "unspeakably evil".
In a statement outside New Scotland Yard, Rowley said the ex cop had "subjected these victims and survivors to the most degrading and inhumane treatment."
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Rowley added: "He should not have been a police officer.
"We weren’t rigorous enough in our approach and as a result we missed opportunities to identify the warning signs over decades. I want to again reiterate my apology on behalf of the Met. We are truly sorry."
The Centre for Women’s Justice said in a statement: "While today’s sentencing is an important step for his victims in seeking justice, they and members of the public rightly have many further questions.
Protesters from Women Against Rape & Women of Colour Global Woman's strike (PA)"In particular, how was this man, who had been reported by an ex-partner for a domestic incident even before joining the police, allowed to become a police officer in 2000?
"How is it possible, that despite three further reports to the police of domestic abuse allegations he was promoted to the parliamentary and diplomatic unit, a unit where he was issued with a gun and served alongside Wayne Couzens in 2009?
"How did he pass his re-vetting in 2017, despite a further domestic abuse report only a year earlier? And how was it, that in 2021 when reported for rape, shortly after Couzens had been arrested for the rape and murder of Sarah Everard, he was still not suspended?
"These questions need to be answered fully and frankly, because the failure to bring him to justice earlier, left him free to rape, abuse and control many more women.
He pleaded guilty to 49 offences, across two decades (REX/Shutterstock)
The rapist cop sat in the dock (PA)"Moreover, the lack of accountability, including a failure to consider whether those officers who considered Carrick suitable to be promoted and continue in his role may be guilty of misconduct is an additional insult to these women.
"Centre for Women’s Justice renews our call that there must be a statutory inquiry into police perpetrated violence against women.
"The current inquiry, announced by the Home Secretary in October 2021 following the sentencing of Wayne Couzens, lacks the powers to tackle this issue properly. It simply does not have the confidence of the group most affected, namely women and girls.
"We asked the previous Home Secretary to hold a statutory inquiry and she refused. While she has since changed her mind, the present Home Secretary has failed to respond to our correspondence asking again and offering to share our expertise.
"It is a disservice to Carrick’s incredibly brave victims and indeed all victims of police perpetrated abuse, that the government continues to fail to tackle this issue, which requires a thorough examination by way of a Statutory Inquiry first."
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