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Cop linked to Sarah Everard’s killer chared with raping Tinder date

A UK police officer from the same unit as Sarah Everard’s killer has been charged with sexual assault after meeting a woman on Tinder.

A UK police officer from the same unit as Sarah Everard’s killer Wayne Couzens raped a woman he met on Tinder, a court has heard.

Police constable David Carrick, 46, has been suspended from the Met’s Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command.

A referral has been made to the Independent Office for Police Conduct following the alleged offence on September 4 last year.

Carrick appeared at St Albans Magistrates’ Court, just outside London, via video link today charged with one count of rape.

David Carrick worked in the same unit as Wayne Couzens.
David Carrick worked in the same unit as Wayne Couzens.

The court was told he “emphatically denies” attacking the woman after they shared drinks at two pubs in St Albans, north of London.

He allegedly claimed he had guarded British Prime Minister Boris Johnson through his work.

Carrick, who was off-duty at the time, then raped the woman at a Premier Inn in St Albans, the court heard.

The officer was remanded into custody to next appear at St Albans Crown Court on November 1.

The 46-year-old has been suspended from the Met’s Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command.
The 46-year-old has been suspended from the Met’s Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command.

Carrick’s arrest came just days after Couzens, 48, was given a rare “whole life order” for Sarah Everard’s kidnap, rape and murder.

He used his warrant card and handcuffs to abduct, rape, and kill Sarah, 33.

It is unclear if Carrick and Couzens were working in the Parliamentary Protection unit at the same time.

After he was charged with Sarah's murder, it emerged Couzens slipped through the net despite colleagues knowing he had indulged his dark fantasies.

The first incident against him was reported in 2002 – before he joined the police.

Couzens also allegedly exposed himself in a McDonald’s in South London on February 28, just three days before Sarah’s murder.

Sarah Everard was murdered after she was kidnapped by Couzens, who falsely arrested her. Picture: Supplied
Sarah Everard was murdered after she was kidnapped by Couzens, who falsely arrested her. Picture: Supplied

A similar indecent exposure claim against him was also made in Kent in 2015.

Following Sarah’s murder, the Met have been put under intense scrutiny for their vetting procedure and how they protect women.

Shockingly, Couzens was not given enhanced vetting when he joined the Met’s Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Unit in February 2020 and also did not serve his full two years on probation in September 2018.

Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Nick Ephgrave has admitted a check when Couzens transferred to the Metropolitan Police in 2018 was not done “correctly”.

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick. Picture: Daniel Leal-Olivas/AFP
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick. Picture: Daniel Leal-Olivas/AFP

Calls are now mounting for Met Chief Cressida Dick to resign following Couzens’ sentencing and Carrick’s arrest.

Speaking on the latest development, she said: “I am deeply concerned to hear the news today that an officer from the Met’s Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command has been arrested and now charged with this serious offence.

“I fully recognise the public will be very concerned too.

“Criminal proceedings must now take their course so I am unable to comment any further at this stage.”

This article originally appeared on The Sun and was reproduced with permission.

Original URL: https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/news-life/cop-accused-of-raping-woman-linked-to-sarah-everards-killer/news-story/be6885169ed9e80270361d86de6cd00d