The note rapist ex-police officer David Carrick wrote 35 years ago that could’ve stopped his future crimes
Serial rapist David Carrick’s written confession remained hidden for 35 years.
The senior officer leading the investigation said police knew at the time of the document that could change history.
The note, dated August 29, 1990, and containing his medical records, stated that Carrick admitted to molesting a 12-year-old girl.
Although he was a teenager at the time, he became one of Britain’s most notorious sexual predators, hiding behind his role as an armed Metropolitan Police officer for years. The note emerged as part of a second investigation after Carrick, of Stevenage, was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2023 for raping and abusing 12 women.
Detective Superintendent Iain Moor, who led the Hertfordshire Police investigation, suggested the future would have been “very different” if Carrick’s crime had been detected in 1990.
He said: “It is very difficult to apply today’s standards to the 1990s. Frankly, we now have multi-institutional conservation centres.”
“We have mechanisms for reports to come from GPs and medical professionals.
“But I think if something had happened in 1990 and the police had noticed it then it would have been possible for the crime to have been detected at that point and then the future would have looked very different.
“It’s hard to say exactly what that path will be, but I’m sure it will be different from what we have today.”
Carrick, who goes by “Dave,” wrote that the girl was “not crazy” and that it was “true,” but that she stopped about four months ago.
“I know how (the girl) must feel. That’s why I stopped and promised never to go near her again, and I kept that promise and always will,” Carrick wrote.
He offered to leave and never be seen again, adding: “I’m sorry for you and especially sorry (for the girl) but she doesn’t need to worry again. Please don’t try to talk about it.”
According to the victim, Carrick wrote the letter after the girl told her mother what had happened, but no further action was taken and the matter was “swept under the rug”.
In February 2023, Carrick was sentenced to 36 life sentences with a minimum term of 32 years after admitting 71 sexual offenses against 12 women, including 48 rapes.
Describing the second investigation that followed, Mr Moor said: “We made an appeal after the first case to see if there were other victims there. I believed there were other victims there.”
“We already knew about one of these cases from the initial investigation, while the other victim came forward after some news was published.
“I admire their courage in coming forward. “Clearly David Carrick has received 36 life sentences and will remain in prison for a long time.
“It takes great courage for the victim of such a crime to come forward.”
He said it was important to ensure justice for the two women at the center of the second investigation.
“From a criminal justice perspective, it is important that he was convicted of these crimes.
“But as we know, when someone gets a sentence like his, a question always arises, do we open a new case?
“In this case, making sure the victims’ voices are heard is absolutely the right thing to do, and hopefully it will give them some kind of closure and help them on their healing journey.”
On whether there were other missed opportunities to stop Carrick earlier, Mr Moor said: “There were times when there were potential opportunities.
“Some of these are still subject to investigation so it is very difficult to comment on them.”
The senior officer said the 1990 case shed new light on Carrick’s crimes, given the young age of the victim and extended the time period from 17 years to 30 years.
Mr Moor said he believed there may be more victims yet to come forward.
He said: “There are a variety of reasons why people may not be ready to come forward and we fully respect those.
“But if there are people out there, we would encourage them to come forward and investigate their crimes.”
