In the span of almost 20 years, a police officer with London's Metropolitan Police committed dozens of rapes and other sexual offenses against 12 women.
Earlier this month, a London police officer named David Carrick was sentenced to life in prison for violence against 12 women over 17 years, which a judge described as him taking "monstrous advantage" of them.
“You behaved as if you were untouchable,” the judge, Bobbie Cheema-Grubb, told Carrick, pointing out that he had committed a series of assaults soon after becoming a police officer. When he assaulted his victims, he repeatedly referenced his job.
Throughout the trial, the deeply traumatizing nature of Carrick's violence was revealed through impact statements written by his victims, who were all granted anonymity as sexual crime victims.
A culture of misogyny has flourished within the London Metropolitan Police, and several officers have also been accused of violence against women and girls.
Wayne Couzens, a serving London police officer arrested in 2021, was sentenced to life in prison for abducting, raping, and killing Sarah Everard, a crime that sparked national demands for reform.
After a two-day hearing at Southwark Criminal Court in London, Carrick was sentenced by Judge Cheema-Grubb, who described how Carrick “took monstrous advantage of women” he was in a relationship with and “brazenly raped them.”
Carrick was sentenced to life in prison and must serve a minimum of 30 years and 239 days. He previously pleaded guilty last month to 49 charges of crimes against 12 women from 2003 to 2020, including 24 counts of rape, and numerous charges of sexual assault, controlling and coercive behavior, and false imprisonment.
The abuse of power by law enforcement is a perpetual issue. Although David Carrick is being held responsible for his crimes and is being punished accordingly, reform will never be possible if criminals in law enforcement are shielded by their institutions instead of being held accountable for the massive harm they cause. #AbolitionNow
Source: The New York Times
Comments