David Carrick victims say: 'It should never have happened'

David Carrick held a gun to the head of one of his victims, the court heard

One of the UK's most prolific sex offenders, David Carrick, used his power and control, in part because of his job as a policeman, to silence his victims.

Now their voices have been heard in court as he was sentenced to life in prison for his crimes. Below we hear from 11 of the former Metropolitan Police officer's 12 victims whose statements were read out in court.

As victims of sexual offences, the women have all been granted anonymity for life.

'I kept seeing the gun'

Carrick was in court to hear impact statements from his victims before he was jailed for life with a minimum of 30 years, with Woman A stating: "That night I felt I had encountered evil."

"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," she said.

In the following weeks and months she "couldn't move on".

She added: "I kept seeing the gun he had pointed at me and remembering the cruel words he had used."

When she saw Carrick's picture in the media after his arrest in December 2021 she "just froze as the memories came flooding back".

"I knew from this moment that I would have to eventually face the man who had raped me, " she added.

'I remained silent'

Woman B said she was "too frightened" to go to the police after Carrick warned her, "he was the police, he was the law and he owned me".

She said: "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."

However, she added that the negative impact would not define her, but would "instead shape me to be a better, stronger version of me".

David Carrick was given 36 life sentences

In another impact statement, read to the court, Woman C asked: "He was a police officer, so what wasn't to trust?"

The woman now had trust issues with new people and had "managed to put the incident in a box and forget" before seeing media reports about Carrick.

"I decided I had to come forward too and now it has brought it all back and I think about it all the time and it affects my sleep," she said.

'I was angry and scared'

Woman D said Carrick's actions had an impact on her subsequent relationships with men.

"To this day I still struggle to see myself as a victim, I feel like it was my fault in that I shouldn't have put myself in that position," she said.

"I have come to realise that he manipulated me and got me in a position where I was vulnerable and he shouldn't have done that.

"I was angry and scared at the time of it happening and felt physically vulnerable against him."

'I have never felt so humiliated'

Another victim, Woman E, said she "may look OK from the outside but inside I am hurting so much" and can no longer trust anyone.

"I just hope that one day I will love myself again but it's going to take long time to get myself back again," she said.

"I am a kind and very caring person. I just hope that one day I will forgive... I have never felt so humiliated, trapped and hurt in my life."

'Who can you trust?'

In another statement Woman F said: "I don't trust the police any more. If anything went wrong I don't know whether I would want to call the police as I'd worry that they would send a male officer like him."

On Carrick, she added: "I don't feel like any sentence could ever be enough for what he did and the effects that it has had on my life.

"Knowing that he was in a position of trust also makes trusting people even harder, because if you can't trust someone who is supposed to serve and protect you, then who can you trust?"

'Went into survival mode'

Woman G said she endured self-harm by "starving myself, poisoning myself with nicotine and alcohol".

"From the moment I was told, 'shush this is our little secret', I felt myself change," she said.

"I went into survival mode: I left my body and went somewhere else until I was safe.

"Or so I thought. This event appeared to have triggered a reaction in me that I could not control."

'Distrust in men'

Another victim, Woman H, said she had not been in a long-term relationship with another man since Carrick attacked her.

She believed Carrick's actions had "shaped" her, adding it had "possibly deprived me of a family life".

"My mental health has suffered over the years and my personal life has been lonely due to my distrust in men and fear of becoming too personally close to them," she added.

'I felt sick'

After deciding to speak out, Woman I said "it just all started replaying in my mind".

The woman hoped giving a video statement to police would help her "put it all back in the box" in her mind but it did not work.

"It started coming back into my head in waves again when I was asked to appear in court. I felt sick each time I had to talk about it," she said.

"This did not stop me wanting to come forward though, I knew that this would help stop him doing it to anyone else."

'I am scared of the police'

The court was told one of Carrick's victims had struggled with trust following her ordeal.

Woman J said: "I do not trust men, I am unable to build healthy relationships. I do not trust authorities, especially the police.

"I am scared of the police, every time I see a policeman or police car I freeze, hold my breath before it begins to become rapid through panic."

'It should never have happened'

Woman K's full statement read: "I have attempted to write a [victim personal statement], but I've found it absolutely impossible to put down anything on paper that would accurately reflect and capture every single emotion and thought experienced.

"My words could never express the anger, hatred, shame and embarrassment from that past life.

"It should never have happened."

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