Constable David Carrick gave the outward appearance of an officer who was a credit to the force. Dependable, reliable and trusted to the point where he could be armed and placed on the most high profile of duties.
At the pinnacle of a police career spanning two decades, Carrick served in what is now the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command, providing an armed policing presence at parliamentary, government and diplomatic premises.
And yet throughout a working life spent supposedly in the service of his country either in the police or army, Carrick preyed on a host of victims, subjecting women to the most vile, degrading sexual abuse, violence and threats.
He believed - and told them - his position as a policeman meant he was beyond reproach, untouchable, exempt from the law. And shockingly, for the most part, he was right.
Time and again, despite warning bells being sounded over his behaviour, Carrick's superiors dismissed allegations against him, giving him the green light to continue in uniform - and free rein to visit misery on further victims.
His coercive controlling behaviour was facilitated by being able to tell the women that he abused that no-one in authority would believe them against him. In effect, he WAS the law.
Ultimately however the bravery of Carrick's victims ensured the authorities had to mount a proper investigation which finally saw him given life in prison with a minimum sentence of 30 years and 239 days for attacking a dozen women.
Carrick ultimately pleaded guilty to 24 counts of rape as well as charges of sexual assault, controlling and coercive behaviour and false imprisonment, with Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb telling the disgraced policeman "you behaved as if you were untouchable".
The Met was forced to apologise and admit Carrick should have been rooted out earlier after it emerged he came to police attention over nine incidents - including allegations of rape, domestic violence and harassment - between 2000 and 2021, with all but one of the incidents relating to his behaviour towards women.
Carrick faced no criminal sanctions or misconduct findings and police chiefs across England and Wales have since been asked to have all officers checked against national police databases by the end of March.
Below we detail how Carrick flew the under the radar.
Carrick's mum says he 'changed' after an allegation against him
Last month Jean Carrick revealed she had previous concerns with Carrick when he was a teenager.
She that Carrick has been "normal-ish" while growing up and that he did "fairly well" at school.
She also said that he brought "so many" girls home that she eventually stopped asking about them because he "used to change them quite a lot".
But she also recalled reporting Carrick after a serious allegation was made about him.
“After that, he changed,” Jean, who hasn't had contact with Carrick in about 15 years, told The Guardian: “He just sort of kept himself to himself and away from the family. And that’s when I had my two other children.
After leaving the family home, Carrick worked in a local supermarket before joining the army at 19 years old, where he served in the Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiments.
His mother, from Salisbury, said she thought he could have joined "because he wanted to carry a weapon".
Carrick served in the British Army from 1996 until 1997.
Carrick becomes suspect in two offences in 2000
Carrick was reported to the Met police involving allegations of malicious communications and burglary against a former partner after he refused to accept the end of their relationship.
He was not arrested and no further action was taken.
Carrick accused of harassment and assault during his probation period with the Met
Carrick joined the Met in 2001 and in 2002 he was accused of harassment and assault against a former partner.
He was not arrested by the force and no further action is taken.
The matter was not referred to the Directorate of Professional Standards.
Carrick goes on to rape the first and second victims
In 2003, Carrick raped his first known victim and in 2004, he raped another woman.
A woman who was raped in 2003 said in a victim impact statement that she felt she had "encountered evil".
In a statement read out at Southwark Crown Court, she said: "That night I felt I had encountered evil. For the past 19 years, I’ve been lost in my own life mainly due to this one event.
"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."
In 2004, Carrick was involved in a domestic incident but no criminal allegations were made to the police.
He was not arrested and the matter was not referred to the Directorate of Professional Standards.
Carrick carries out multiple rapes of a woman between 2006 and 2009
The woman was abused and threatened with violence.
In 2009, Carrick was transferred to what is now the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command.
In this role, he provided an armed policing presence at parliamentary, government and diplomatic premises.
Hertfordshire Police receive a domestic abuse report
In the same year, Hertfordshire Police received a domestic abuse report from a third party involving Carrick.
Neither party makes a complaint and no charges were brought.
Hertfordshire did inform Metropolitan Police of the complaint.
Carrick carried out another assault on a woman who he met after a social evening.
Within the same year, he sexual assaulted another woman after sharing a hotel room following a social event.
A few months later, he invited another woman to his home where he became aggressive and subsequently raped her.
In 2015, Carrick raped another woman. In 2016, he repeatedly raped a woman who said he controlled her.
One of the victim impact statements read out in court detailed how Carrick decided what she ate and what she wore.
She said: "He began controlling and limiting my friends, family, and relationships...Sometimes he was so aggressive during sex and he would hit me in my head; I actually thought I might die. I had less and less energy to defend myself when I was forced to have sex. Mentally I was exhausted."
She added: "I slowly learned what he expected from me and how I could make my life easier.
"I felt trapped, I couldn’t see an escape and he made me feel like I had no one."
Carrick passes vetting in 2017
At this point, Carrick had had complaints lodged against him and later dropped without arrest at least four times between 2002 and 2016.
In 2016, he became a suspect in the Hampshire Police investigation following an allegation of harassment. He was not arrested and the inquiry was later closed.
He was re-vetted and passed.
In the same year, Thames Valley Police spoke to him after he was thrown out of a nightclub for being drunk.
He was not arrested and the matter was not referred to the Met.
Carrick continued to carry out his campaign of violence, sexually assaulting two more women in 2017 and another in 2018.
A woman who was subjected to coercive and controlling behaviour, false imprisonment, rape and sexual assault between 2017 and 2019 said she was locked naked in a cupboard.
In her victim impact statement, she said: "I was whipped, urinated on and locked naked in a cupboard. At times, I was made to sleep naked on the floor. My chest was sat on; I was strangled, kicked, and threatened."
She added: "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. I was terrified of making myself a target, so I remained silent."
Hertfordshire Police receive another complaint about Carrick
In 2019, Hertfordshire Police received a third-party report of an assault and criminal damage involving an argument between Carrick and a woman during a domestic incident.
He was said to have grabbed her by the neck.
Neither party was supportive of police involvement and no further action was taken after the case was looked at by the domestic abuse unit.
It was also referred to the Met's Directorate of Professional Standards and Carrick was given words of advice in relation to informing his chain of command about off-duty incidents.
It was then determined he has no case to answer in relation to misconduct.
A woman comes forward after she is attacked
In 2021, A woman reported she was raped by Carrick in 2020. He was arrested by Hertfordshire Police over the allegation but no further action was taken after she withdraws the complaint.
The Met's Directorate of Professional Standards was made aware and Carrick was placed on restricted duties.
However, it was determined he had no case to answer in relation to any misconduct and in September the restriction was lifted, although he never returned to full duties.
Later in the same year, another woman reported she was raped by Carrick and this time he was arrested, charged and suspended by the Met.
He appeared in court in October 2021 and was remanded in custody after appearing at Westminster Magistrates' Court charged with rape.
Between October 2021 and October 2022, another 12 women came forward with allegations against Carrick.
He pleaded guilty in December 2022 to 43 offences and in January 2023 admitted a further six charges.
Carrick was sacked by the Met the same month.
*For confidential support, call the 24-hour National Domestic Abuse Freephone Helpline on 0808 2000 247 or visit womensaid.co.uk Furthermore, Rape Crisis 24/7 helpline can be contacted at 0808 500 2222, Victim Support 24/7 helpline is on 0808 168 9111, Survivors UK (male victims) can be reached 0203 598 3898, Survivors Trust helpline is on 08088 010818
