UK police officer admits rape years after the incident was reported

Years after numerous police departments were made aware of his attacks, a British officer has acknowledged to dozens of sexual assaults committed over the course of 18 years, including 24 charges of rape.

In front of London's Southwark Crown Court on Monday, David Carrick, a former armed officer with the Metropolitan Police, entered a guilty plea to four counts of rape, false imprisonment, and indecent assault.

At a hearing in December, he had previously admitted to 43 additional offenses, including 20 counts of rape.

Between 2003 and 2020, when Carrick was a response officer and later a part of the Met Police's parliamentary and diplomatic command, which was in charge of protecting the UK Parliament, the prime minister's house, and foreign embassies, 12 women were attacked.

When Carrick was arrested in October 2021, his employment was put on hold. He lived in Hertfordshire, a county north of London, where the majority of his crimes were committed.

The 48-year-old had been reported to police agencies, including the Met, "nine times prior to October 2021," according to a statement from the London police.

From 2000 to 2021, there were complaints of rape, domestic abuse, and harassment, but no charges were filed.

Following disclosures of bullying, racial discrimination, and misogyny among some of its officers, the Met was put under "special measures" last year. With that designation comes more scrutiny for the nation's largest police department, which is now required to submit regular reports to inspectors.

In order to respond to charges of misbehavior more successfully, the Met need "radical" transformation, according to an independent analysis published in October.

After an officer received a life sentence for the rape and murder of pedestrian Sarah Everard in 2021, the review was ordered.