After the conviction of Sarah Everard’s murderer in London, one of his colleagues now has to answer in court: the police officer is said to have raped a woman.
London – Just days after the verdict against Sarah Everard’s murderer, another British capital city policeman has been charged with rape.
As Scotland Yard announced, it is a 46-year-old officer who served in the same unit as the murderer Everards, who was sentenced to life in prison last week. Both were responsible for protecting Parliament and diplomatic buildings in London. The man will be brought before the judge on Monday, it said.
Scotland Yard chief Cressida Dick was deeply concerned about the case. “I fully understand that the public is also concerned,” she was quoted as saying in the statement. The alleged act is said to have occurred in the county of Hertfordshire, north of London, outside of the defendant’s working hours.
The 33-year-old Londoner Sarah Everard was kidnapped, raped and murdered in March. It later emerged that the perpetrator, a police officer, had arrested and kidnapped her for allegedly violating the Corona rules. The case crumbled confidence in the UK police force and sparked a wave of outrage over violence against women in the country.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson accused the police over the weekend of not taking violence against women seriously enough. However, he declined an independent investigation into Everard’s murder. Instead, the entire handling of rape, domestic violence, sexual violence and complaints by women about harassment must be systematically investigated, said the prime minister on BBC television on Sunday. Too often investigations ended without conviction because prosecutors didn’t work closely enough with the police, criticized Johnson.
After Everard’s murder, critics denounced a misogynist culture within the police. Insiders report that colleagues who are guilty of assault are covered. The latest case is likely to fuel the debate. dpa
