UK Metropolitan Police officer from same unit as Sarah Everard's killer accused of rape

A serving Metropolitan Police officer from the same unit as Durham University student Sarah Everard's assassin has been allegedly slapped with rape charges, reported Daily Mail citing the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). 46-year-old PC David Carrick, a resident of Stevenage in the United Kingdom, is scheduled to appear in Hatfield Magistrates' Court on Monday. He has been accused of raping a woman in St Albans on September 4, 2020. PC Carrick is also a member of the Met's Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command, which patrols some of the UK's most guarded institutions, including 10 Downing Street, and was off duty at the time of committing the crime. The new accusation comes after the Couzens was sentenced to life in prison for the kidnapping, rape, and murder of Everard last week. 

Met Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick has been bombarded with calls to resign in recent days, following several missed opportunities to identify officer Wayne Couzens as a sexual predator. On Sunday, October 3, the police head expressed her 'deep concern' over the rape complaint and also stated that Carrick was detained on October 2 by Hertfordshire Constabulary. The Metropolitan Police Service said it was awaiting the outcome of criminal proceedings and that a reference to the Independent Office for Police Conduct had been made, reported Daily Mail. Meanwhile, the Met Police has also taken the unprecedented step to issue a statement advising women and girls on how to protect themselves if they are stopped on street by officers. The statement comes after testimony presented during Wayne Couzens' sentence showed that he used his police identification to stop Sarah Everard on March 3, before taking her to a distant spot where he raped and killed the 33-year-old student, reported The Associated Press (AP).

British PM calls for reform in criminal justice system's response to crimes against women

It should be mentioned here that last week, Couzens was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole after pleading guilty. Meanwhile, On September 17, the murder of Sabina Nessa, a primary school teacher, as she strolled through a south London park to meet a friend has shattered public trust in the police force's ability to protect women. However, the department stated that a new plan for combatting violence against women would be released soon. While Prime Minister Boris Johnson stated that the public should continue to trust the police and admitted that the criminal justice system's response to crimes against women needs to be reformed, reported The AP. 

Image: AP