When the Metropolitan police constable David Carrick was arrested for rape in October 2021, his demeanour during the interview was unusual for a suspect facing a serious criminal accusation.
"He was quite charming, as if he was talking to his friends who were police officers; just having a chat. It did not seem like he was concerned," recalls Shilpa Shah, a lawyer from the Crown Prosecution Service, who built the case against him.
It would be revealed that accusations of abusive behaviour towards women were nothing new to Carrick. What was different this time was that he would face justice. When arrested, his response was: "Not again."
It would take 20 years from his first known offence for him to be convicted, following an act of heroism by one of his victims. She told police Carrick had raped her - flashing his police warrant card to reassure her, and boasting of his proximity to the powerful, before attacking her.
Her act of bravery set off a chain reaction that led to Carrick's conviction, with a long prison sentence in prospect, and rocked Britain's largest police force and whatever public trust it retains after a series of scandals.
From no later than 2003, Carrick waged a campaign of terror against women who fell for his initial charms. Sometimes in London, but mostly in Hertfordshire, he was a prolific predator looking for victims, police say.
Unlike other serial abusers, he had a unique item in the "toolkit" he would use on his victims - his status as a police officer. He exploited it to put women at ease, perpetrate the abuse and then silence his victims.
Shah said Carrick held a threat over women that if they complained, nobody would believe them. "They didn't feel they would be believed because they were going up against a police officer, who obviously people believe and trust."
This story is from the January 20, 2023 edition of The Guardian Weekly.
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This story is from the January 20, 2023 edition of The Guardian Weekly.
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