Rapist cop David Carrick’s 32-year life sentence won’t be increased as Solicitor General decides it will not be referred to Court of Appeal for being ‘unduly lenient’
- Carrick carried out at least 71 sexual offences and 48 rapes against his victims
- He used his role as an armed police officer to scare women from reporting him
- Victims described being threatened, beaten, whipped, locked up and strangled
The sentence of rapist Metropolitan Police officer David Carrick will not be referred to the Court of Appeal under the Unduly Lenient Sentencing (ULS) scheme, the Solicitor General has said, meaning it will not be increased.
The disgraced 48-year-old officer, described as a ‘monster’ and ‘evil’ by victims, was jailed for life with a minimum term of 32 years after carrying out a ‘catalogue of violent and brutal’ sex attacks between 2003 and 2020 against 12 women.
Carrick eventually pleaded guilty to all the charges against him, which accounted for some 71 sexual offences and 48 rapes.
Some of his victims, who have bravely spoken out about their ordeal, described being threatened, beaten, whipped with a metal chain, constantly surveilled with CCTV and being locked naked in a tiny cupboard for hours at a time. Several were also strangled and threatened with firearms.
On Friday, Michael Tomlinson KC said although ‘so many’ referrals were received under the ULS scheme, ‘full and detailed legal advice’ suggested the case did not meet the high threshold.
David Carrick, 48, admitted to a total of 71 sexual offences and 48 rapes, and was sentenced to life in prison
Carrick was a serving police officer at the time of all of the offences and was working for the Met at the time of his arrest
He said the original trial judge had taken into account the extreme nature of Carrick’s crimes and that he had a legal duty to consider the amount of time that pleading guilty can remove from a sentence.
The Solicitor General said: ‘Because of the strong feelings this case evokes, it came as little surprise that I received so many referrals under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme to consider the term of 32 years minus time served handed to Carrick.
‘I have received full and detailed legal advice and considered the issues raised very carefully and concluded Carrick’s case cannot properly be referred to the Court of Appeal.
‘Such a referral can only be made if the legal test is met, irrespective of the seriousness of the offending or the emotions the offending may evoke in all of us.
‘But my duty as a law officer in considering whether sentences may be unduly lenient is to act quasi-judicially and independently of government, even when it is not easy or popular.’
Carrick, who joined the Met in 2001 before becoming an armed officer with the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command in 2009, used his position to gain his victims’ trust and scare them into silence.
He held a handgun to the head of one woman and sent another a photograph of himself with a work-issue firearm, saying: ‘Remember I am the boss.’
He pleaded guilty to 49 charges, including 24 counts of rape, but some were multiple-incident counts, meaning they relate to at least 85 separate offences, including at least 71 sexual offences and 48 rapes.
Explaining the reasons why the sentence cannot be referred, Mr Tomlinson KC said: ‘At sentence, Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb described the ‘irretrievable devastation’ Carrick has wrought on the women who were victims of his sickening offences and I am satisfied that she gave careful and detailed consideration to all the features of this case.
‘These include the seriously aggravating factor that David Carrick was a serving police officer and the impact of his horrendous crimes on public confidence in policing, particularly in relation to cases of rape and sexual violence.
‘She also had to consider the guilty pleas that were entered by David Carrick and the reduction in sentence guilty pleas attract.
Carrick, who routinely carried firearms as an officer, threatened at least two of his victims with guns – sending one a photo of him with a police-issued weapon and holding a gun to a second woman’s head
Read more: ‘Why wasn’t David Carrick given a whole life term?’ Campaigners ask: Fury as depraved cop, 48, is only handed a minimum term of 30 years behind bars for sex attacks on 12 women
‘The threshold for referral is a high one and that was not met in this case. It is only met if the sentencing judge made a gross error or imposed a sentence outside the range reasonably available in the circumstances of the offending.’
Campaigners previously questioned why Carrick was not given a whole life order, meaning he would never leave prison.
At sentencing, the judge slammed Carrick for taking ‘monstrous advantage of his victims’ while serving as a Metropolitan Police officer for more than 20 years.
At least five of Carrick’s victims bravely attended Southwark Crown Court to watch as their attacker was jailed for a minimum of 30 years and 239 days in prison before being considered for parole.
The disgraced former firearms officer wore a dark suit, white shirt and tie as he appeared in the dock in front of a packed courtroom at a hearing that was televised.
He was silent and impassive as his sentence was handed down.
During sentencing, Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb said Carrick had taken ‘monstrous advantage’ of his victims with whom he had ‘brutal, controlling and coercive relationships’ with.
She told Carrick that he ‘behaved as if you were untouchable’, adding it was a ‘spectacular downfall for a man charged with upholding the law’ having lost his liberty, job and status.
She 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.
‘You brazenly raped and sexually assaulted a number of women, some very brutally, and 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.
‘For nearly two decades, you were proved right but now a combination of those 12 women, by coming forward, and your police colleagues, by acting on their evidence, have exposed you and brought you low.
‘You have lost your liberty, your job and your status. You have before you the prospect of a difficult time in custody for many years.’
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