Helena Wilkinson and Jeremy Britton
At Southwark Crown Court

Image source, Julia Quenzler

Carrick sat in the glass dock barely looking up as the horrific details of his crimes were laid bare.

Some of his victims travelled to court where the man who attacked them has been held to account.

Over 17 years of the most serious sexual offences against women, we heard about the trail of damage left by this police officer.

In Victim Impact Statements (read out by the prosecutor) the women recounted the physical and physiological lasting impact of his offending.

One described how she “met evil”. Others said they couldn’t trust men anymore. And perhaps most damningly, a number of women described being nervous of the police.

One said she wouldn’t call even if something went wrong in case a male officer like Carrick was sent.

Helena Wilkinson
reporting from Southwark Crown Court

You’ll notice that we haven't named the 12 women in this case. That’s because they are victims of sexual offences and are entitled to automatic, life-long anonymity.

We also have to be careful in avoiding what is known as jigsaw identification, which is when a combination of detail can lead to the identification of that person.

The judge says she will sentence Carrick at 10:30 tomorrow.

The court rises, and the day's proceedings come to a close.

James FitzGerald
Reporting from Southwark Crown Court

The court is back from a short break.

Now Alisdair Williamson KC is on his feet, providing the mitigation – meaning any factors which should be considered for lessening a defendant’s sentence.

Williamson begins by saying that Carrick accepts full responsibility for what he has done and acknowledges the “suffering” he has caused.

“Something has profoundly damaged this man,” he says.

A likely minimum term of a life sentence will bring him “close to, if not to, the end of his natural life”, the defence barrister says.

The former police officer “cannot ask for mercy and does not,” he adds.

This is the guidance from the sentencing council, external:

When someone is given a life sentence, they will be subject to that sentence for the rest of their life.

When a judge passes a life sentence, they must specify the minimum term an offender must spend in prison before becoming eligible to apply for parole (sometimes called the tariff).

There is one exception to this rule, which is when a judge passes a ‘whole life order’. This sentence means that the offender must spend the rest of their life in prison.

A life sentence always lasts for life, whatever the length of the minimum term.

James FitzGerald
Reporting from Southwark Crown Court

Having read out all the women's statements, prosecutor Tom Little KC is now discussing the issue of sentencing with judge Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb.

Remember that David Carrick has pleaded guilty to 49 charges, including multiple rapes and sexual assaults.

Little says Carrick warrants a life sentence, with a minimum term applied.

He appeals to the judge to consider the “seriousness of the offending overall”, but he says the case falls short of meriting a whole life order.

James FitzGerald
Reporting from Southwark Crown Court

The next woman's statement begins: “I may look okay from the outside, but on the inside, I’m hurting so much.”

The victim writes that she used to be a happy person, and hopes that “one day I will love myself again”. “I have never felt so humiliated,” she says.

James FitzGerald
Reporting from Southwark Crown Court

“My anxiety now affects all aspects of my life”, we hear in another woman's statement.

She describes her difficulties in dealing with men – including male police officers - after being raped by Carrick. “I feel I am now isolated from my friends and people and general”, the statement continues.

She describes a feeling that the offences were her fault, and a worry that she would be “targeted” if she reported the crimes to the police.

Carrick, sitting in the dock, continues to stare at the floor as the victim’s statements are read out.

James FitzGerald
Reporting from Southwark Crown Court

The court hears the story of another woman, who describes how her relationship with Carrick led her to lose weight, after the then-police officer controlled what she ate and what she wore.

She was led to believe that “he owned me”. The statement also says: "He broke me." She describes her “anxiety and depression” and struggles with intimacy after encountering Carrick.

Carrick “drilled into” her that he was the police, meaning that she was deterred from raising the alarm, her statement says.

James FitzGerald
Reporting from Southwark Crown Court

Three more statements from the victims – which are again read by the prosecutor – give more of a picture of the psychological effects of the women’s encounters with Carrick.

"He was a police officer – what wasn’t to trust?” says one. She says she thinks about the attack all the time and it affects her sleep.

Another woman says: “It took me a long time to allow anybody to get close to me, emotionally and physically”. She was left feeling vulnerable and confused.

Another woman describes becoming homeless – but says “even being homeless was still better than being with Dave”.

“I’m not the same person I was before I met him”. She says she was left feeling “scared, humiliated and worthless”.

James FitzGerald
Reporting from Southwark Crown Court

Another woman's statement talks about how her life changed after encountering Carrick – including changes in eating habits and binge drinking.

“I lived off adrenaline and nicotine”, her statement says, and she had “self-destructive thoughts”.

The victim details making an attempt on her own life and reaching "rock bottom” having believed she had destroyed her marriage.

She gives a detailed account of trying to restore her relationship with her husband.

James FitzGerald
Reporting from Southwark Crown Court

In her statement, the second woman we hear from says she has not had a relationship since the attack by Carrick.

The incident “shaped my life”, she says.

The statement – read by Tom Little KC – says: “My mental health has suffered over the years”.

The statement says the woman now fears close intimate contact with men. Carrick’s attack "possibly deprived me of a family life," she says.

The third statement is shorter, and describes the difficulty of writing such a document. Carrick’s crimes “should never have happened”, it says.

James FitzGerald
Reporting from Southwark Crown Court

The court is now hearing Victim Personal Statements - giving the women an opportunity to explain the impact on their lives of Carrick’s crimes.

In the first statement, read by Tom Little KC, a victim says: “That night I felt that I had encountered evil”. The woman says that she feared for her life when she was raped by Carrick.

Detailing her exchange with a nurse after she was attacked, she said this “wasn’t the first time” the nurse had heard such allegations against a police officer.

The victim adds that she was “too scared to go back into London”. She describes an occasion when she spotted David Carrick again, some time after the attack, and hid from sight.

Reflecting, the victim says in her statement: “I felt I had missed out on 19 years of my life”. It adds: “He should be held accountable for his actions."

Helena Wilkinson
reporting from Southwark Crown Court

Next we’re going to hear what are called Victim Personal Statements from 11 of the 12 victims. They will be read by prosecutor Tom Little KC

VPSs are a really important part of the sentencing process.

They give victims a voice and allow them to explain how the crime has affected them physically, emotionally, psychologically or in any other way.

Victims don’t have to provide one, but if they do, they’ll get the chance to read it in court. The prosecutor can also can read a statement on their behalf.

Victim Personal Statements are also taken into account, along with all the other evidence, by the judge when deciding the sentence.

Tom Little KC arrives at the final woman mentioned in his opening note.

The court once again hears that the defendant and the victim met through a dating website. We then hear the details of their relationship, which deteriorated, culminating in a number of offences against the woman.

Carrick “sought to exercise control over nearly every aspect of her life”, Little says. There is mention of an occasion when he threw the woman’s belongings out of the house.

The victim’s account refers to Carrick’s “personality changing during sex”.

The prosecutor closes his opening note soon afterwards – detailing a number of pornographic videos that Carrick is said to have looked up.

His internet history is “instructive”, Little says.

The next woman we hear about met Carrick via a dating app.

“She believed he worked as an armed police officer,” prosecutor Tom Little KC says.

The court hears that this victim would clean Carrick’s house.

“When he drank alcohol, he changed and became abusive,” the prosecutor adds. Several rapes are detailed and he would call her his slave.

Again, Carrick denied any non-consensual sex when interviewed by police in 2021. He has since admitted most of the charges against him.

Helena Wilkinson
reporting from Southwark Crown Court

We can now show you some photographs which form part of the evidence of the case against Carrick. The images includes the under-stairs cupboard where he falsely imprisoned two women, separately, on different occasions.

Hertfordshire Constabulary’s Detective Chief Inspector Iain Moor previously said he had “seen bigger dog crates”.

Image source, CPS

Image source, CPS

Image source, CPS

Image source, CPS

James FitzGerald
Reporting from Southwark Crown Court

The court has returned after a break for lunch and the judge is back in her seat. Prosecutor Tom Little KC is continuing to read out details of Carrick’s offences against multiple women.

While reporting this story we're trying to strike a balance between reflecting the gravity of the offences that have been detailed, while being sensitive about what you are exposed to.

If you have been affected by anything you have read on this page today, you can get support from the BBC Action Line.

Helena Wilkinson
reporting from Southwark Crown Court

Image source, Julia Quenzla

The court is now breaking for lunch. We’ve heard horrific details of what Carrick did to his victims. Among a long list of crimes committed, he:

• "Brandished a knife” at one victim and “slashed her work shirts”

• Put a “black handgun” to the head of another who tried to leave his house and said “you are not going”

• Punished one woman by shutting her in a small cupboard under the stairs. Every time it occurred he would make her strip naked. He would stand outside and whistle at her as if she was a dog

• Threatened the same woman with his police baton and sent her a photograph of his work issue firearm saying “remember I am the boss”

• Watched the same woman on a camera in the house whilst he was at work. While she was sitting in the lounge she heard the defendant calling her “lazy” through the device

Support is available from the BBC Action Line if you have been affected by anything you have read.