Posted at 14:1814:18
Carrick said victim was his slave
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.
Posted at 14:2314:23
Carrick 'controlled nearly every aspect of victim's life'
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.
Posted at 14:2414:24
Victims are being given a voice in court
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.
14:34
'I felt I had encountered evil': Women have their stories heard
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."
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