‘I felt I had encountered evil’ – Carrick’s victims speak before sentencing
Eleven victim impact statements were read to the court on Monday.
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The victims of former Metropolitan Police officer and serial rapist David Carrick have spoken of how they felt they had “encountered evil”.
In a series of victim impact statements read by prosecutor Tom Little KC, 11 of the 12 women said they had felt “trapped” by Carrick and now “don’t trust the police any more”.
One of the statements detailed a lack of trust in male police officers.
It read: “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.
“If he can do it to a lone female then anyone can do it.
“The thought of being alone with a male officer makes me very anxious, I wouldn’t want to be in a room with a male officer or even any of my friends or family.”
On Carrick himself, the woman added: “I don’t feel like any sentence could ever be enough for what he did and the effects that it has had on my life.
“Knowing that he was in a position of trust also makes trusting people even harder, because if you can’t trust someone who is supposed to serve and protect you, then who can you trust?
“It scares me for people as there are a lot of women on dating apps and it is just too easy to do what he did to me, to other women.”
A second victim said she was convinced the police would not investigate her complaint.
Her statement read: “I was too frightened to go to the police to lodge a complaint as the defendant had drilled it into me that ‘he was the police, he was the law, and he owned me’.
“I was convinced the police would not believe me and would not investigate my complaint.
“The only feelings I have for the defendant are immense pity for how damaged he really is.”
One woman said she could remember the words “I am the safest person you can be around”.
She said: “That night I felt I had encountered evil.
“I distinctively remember his words – ‘come on, you can trust me, I am the safest person you can be around, I am a police officer’.
“I honestly thought he was going to kill me that night, I thought he was going to rape me and kill me and that my life would be over.
The memories of what he did have always been so very painful, but the truth of that night should be told, and he should be held accountable for his actions
“I felt lucky to be able to leave the next morning as I didn’t believe that I would be doing so.”
She added: “The days, weeks and months after, I couldn’t move on from that night.
“I kept seeing the gun he had pointed at me and remembering the cruel words he had used, saying the things he was going to do and if I just behaved, he would let me go.
“The memories of what he did have always been so very painful, but the truth of that night should be told, and he should be held accountable for his actions.
“I realise that nothing can change the past, but he had no right to assault me, sexually, mentally or physically, and has no understanding of how much this has impacted my life.”
Another of David Carrick’s victims said she felt “trapped” and “couldn’t see an escape” while he abused her.
Her statement read: “There are so many mental and physical scars that remain.”
She said Carrick made her feel like a “piece of dirt on his shoe” while he was “eliminating my support network”.
“I actually thought I might die,” she said.
“I felt trapped. I couldn’t see an escape and he made me feel like I had no-one.
“I never wanted to be in that situation ever again.”
Carrick, from Stevenage, Hertfordshire, is due to be sentenced by Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb after previously pleading guilty to 49 charges relating to 12 women between 2003 and 2020.