An “evil” police officer who was unmasked as one of Britain’s most prolific sex offenders has been jailed for at least 30 years after being handed 36 life sentences.

David Carrick, 48, was branded a “monster” who carried out a “catalogue of violent and brutal sexual offences” against 12 women over nearly two decades.

Carrick was silent and impassive as the sentence was handed down.

The judge Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb said she was satisfied that life sentences were required in this case.

She said she agreed with the prosecution that the case does not merit a whole-life order, despite the “upmost seriousness” of the offending.

A whole-life order would have meant he would never have been eligible for parole. Carrick’s sentence means he cannot apply for parole until he has served at least 30 years in prison.

Victims described in court how they were raped, controlled and degraded by Carrick, who they feared was too “powerful” to be reported for his crimes.

Live updates from court as rapist policeman Carrick is sentenced

Carrick suicide attempt was ‘self-pitying reaction to court proceedings’

Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb said during sentencing that Carrick was moved to a hospital while in custody after carrying out a “committed attempt” to kill himself.

The judge said the suicide attempt was a “self-pitying reaction” to the “shame” Carrick felt from the court proceedings against him.

The former Metropolitan Police officer had pleaded guilty to 49 charges – including 24 counts of rape – covering a total of 85 offences.

During his sentencing at Southwark Crown Court, Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb said: “These convictions represent a spectacular downfall for a man charged with upholding the law and empowered to do so even to the extent of being authorised to bear a firearm in the execution of his duty.

“Behind a public appearance of propriety and trustworthiness, you took monstrous advantage of women drawn into intimate relationships with you.

“You brazenly raped and sexually assaulted many women, some you barely knew. You behaved as if you were untouchable. You were bold and at times relentless, trusting that no victim would overcome her shame and fear to report you.”

The judge went on to speak about a serving Metropolitan Police officer who was raped by Carrick but felt she couldn’t report it to her colleagues.

She said: “The police officer you raped in 2004 had herself been trained to deal sensitively with complainants, but she didn’t report you until 2021. The reason was shame and she didn’t want to put herself through reporting an anal rape.

“She described this as a hypocritical view, but she didn’t feel brave enough to do it, so she told herself to toughen up and move on.”

The judge also said Carrick poses a “high risk of serious sexual harm” to the public.

“I’m sure you present a grave danger to women who might be persuaded to be alone with you,” she added.

Carrick was ‘abused by stepfather’

The judge also revealed how Carrick had spoken to a probation officer about suffering “childhood trauma”.

Carrick grew up with parents “who drank to excess” and he had told of being abused by his stepfather, the court heard.

“As an adult you abused alcohol yourself,” the judge told Carrick.

She added Carrick caused “irretrievable devastation” in the lives of the women he raped and abused.

“Each one is traumatised,” she said.

The judge added one of Carrick’s victim described “encountering evil”.

Denial, hatred and betrayal were common emotions felt by the victims, she added.

“You have shaped their lives,” the judge told the court.

“Some have damaged mental health. They don’t trust the police.

“You have not expressed remorse or regret for what you have done.”

The former Met Police officer looked at the floor in the dock throughout the judge’s remarks.

Detective Inspector Iain Moor, a senior officer at Hertfordshire Police, the force which investigated Carrick, said outside court he is “extremely relieved” a “serious and prolific sex offender is now going to be behind bars for a very long time”.

Mr Moor praised the bravery of victims “who were prepared to relive their ordeals and face him in court”.

He said the force has set up a “special reporting portal” to allow people to continue to share information about Carrick.

“If anyone else thinks they have been a victim, we still want to hear from you and we will support you,” he added.

“As a serving police officer he has brought shame on the profession and was not fit to wear the uniform.”

Police forced to apologise over Carrick’s crimes

His case is the latest in a spate of scandals at the Met Police, including the murder of Sarah Everard by then-serving officer Wayne Couzens.

The force was forced to apologise and admit Carrick should have been rooted out earlier after it emerged he came to police attention over nine incidents before he was prosecuted. They included allegations of rape, domestic violence and harassment between 2000 and 2021.

All of Carrick’s admitted crimes occurred while he was working for the Met Police.

Known by colleagues as “B*****d Dave”, he joined the force in 2001 before becoming an armed officer with the parliamentary and diplomatic protection command in 2009, guarding the Houses of Parliament and embassy sites.

Carrick, from Stevenage, Hertfordshire, was sacked by the Met Police after his guilty pleas.

Officer whipped and urinated on victims

Over a two-day sentencing hearing, the court heard that Carrick held a gun to a woman’s head before repeatedly raping her and threatened to use his police baton on another victim.

Some women were urinated on, locked naked in a cupboard under the stairs in Carrick’s home, whipped and watched remotely through cameras while he was at work.

He also sent a victim a photograph of himself with a work-issue gun, saying: “Remember I am the boss.”

Read more:
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Prosecutor Tom Little KC said: “The reality was that it did not matter who the victim was … he would rape them, sexually abuse or assault them and humiliate them.”

The court heard one victim – Darciane Nunes Da Silva – who was raped and sexually assaulted by Carrick had waived her right to anonymity.

In a series of victim impact statements read by the prosecutor, women spoke of the trauma they had suffered from Carrick’s crimes – including some who were left suicidal – and how the case had damaged their trust in police.

Carrick told victim: ‘I am the law’

One woman said: “I don’t trust the police any more. If anything went wrong I don’t know whether I would want to call the police as I’d worry that they would send a male officer like him.

“The thought of being alone with a male officer makes me very anxious.”

Another victim said she had been “too frightened” to report Carrick’s crimes after he told her “he was the police, he was the law, and he owned me”.

Meanwhile, the woman who was raped in Carrick’s home after he pointed a gun at her head said she felt she had “encountered evil”.

“I honestly thought he was going to kill me that night,” she added.

The court heard Carrick relied on his “charm” to “beguile and mislead” his victims, then used his “power and control” to stop them leaving or reporting him.

‘He cannot ask for mercy’

One victim described the police constable as “acting like a monster” and said he would call her “his slave”, asking her to take her clothes off while cleaning his house.

Carrick told another victim he would pay her £1,000 a month to be his “slut”, the court heard.

One woman, who was repeatedly raped by Carrick, told a friend that “nobody would believe her” if she reported the attacks because he “was a police officer and very powerful”.

Alisdair Williamson KC, defending, said Carrick “accepts full responsibility for what he has done”.

He pointed out that one victim had noted that “something had profoundly damaged this man”, saying Carrick was “testament” to how “the abused” can become “the abuser”.

“He cannot ask for mercy and does not,” the barrister said.