Woman alleges former Met officer 'ruined my life'

Ex-Met Police officer David Carrick denies several counts of sexual assault, rape and coercive and controlling behaviour

A woman has described how a convicted sex offender who allegedly abused her while working as a police officer has "kind of ruined my life".

Ex-Metropolitan Police officer David Carrick, 50, is on trial at the Old Bailey accused of raping the woman on a number of occasions.

He is also accused of repeatedly molesting a girl in the late 1980s when she was aged between 12 and 14 and he was still a teenager.

Mr Carrick denies several charges of sexual assault, rape and coercive and controlling behaviour.

The alleged rape victim had been in a "toxic relationship" which he controlled, the court heard.

A police interview with the woman was played in court where she alleged that he also strangled her, called her abusive names and kicked her out of the house during their relationship.

She described Mr Carrick as: "Charming, witty, sarcastic, passive, closed off. He was all borderline acceptably arrogant, everyone's best friend."

Of his physical features she said he was quite stocky, not scruffy, blended in well and was "stronger than me tenfold".

She said their relationship was "quite traumatising - I wish I'd never met him".

Asked to explain why, she said: "Because he's kind of ruined my life, tainted my opinions on sex and relationships and trust and care."

Mr Carrick is being tried at the Old Bailey, also known as the Central Criminal Court, in London

She said that she knew he was a police officer because he had told her at the time.

The woman described one occasion when he had allegedly subjected her to a sex act, saying: "After it happened, I was in complete hysterics, I was crying, I was screaming, I didn't expect that to happen, I didn't want that to happen."

Jurors have been told the woman gave her account after Mr Carrick pleaded guilty in 2022 and 2023 to a "large number" of sexual and other offences against women, nearly all of whom he knew.

Tom Little KC said he had been convicted of 71 instances of sexual violence against 12 different women over a period spanning 17 years.

The prosecution says there are "stark similarities" between those offences and the woman's allegations.

Mr Carrick has denied five counts of sexual assault relating to the girl in 1989 and 1990.

He has pleaded not guilty to two charges of rape, one of sexual assault and of coercive and controlling behaviour towards the woman, allegedly committed between 2014 and 2019.

Neither of the alleged victims in the case can be identified for legal reasons.