A Metropolitan Police officer was convicted of 13 counts of rape Wednesday, coming 6 years after an investigation into his abuse of one young girl was discontinued.
24-year-old Cliff Mitchell told one of his victims that she’d “met the devil” as he was kidnapping her in September 2023. He approached her with a knife and demanded she put her hands behind her back before tying her up with cable ties and duck-taping her mouth, Daily Mail reports.
“He was found guilty of 10 counts of rape, three counts of rape of a child under 13, one count of kidnap and breach of a non-molestation order following a trial at Croydon Crown Court,” according to the outlet.
Another one of his victims said he forced her and another person to get into his car. She escaped after saying she felt sick and needed to get out. A good samaritan who saw her running through traffic allowed her to get in their vehicle as she called the emergency line.
Mitchell was a serving officer in the Met’s West Area Basic Command Unit when most of his offenses were committed. He was released in December 2023 after a misconduct hearing.
After he was arrested, police found cable ties in a bag at an address linked to him.
In 2017, Mitchell was subject to a rape investigation involving a young girl which resulted in no further action. However, after his arrest, the case was reopened and he was charged with 6 additional counts of rape between 2014 and 2017.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Stuart Cundy said Mitchell’s actions were “deplorable.”
“This is a truly shocking case and I am sickened by Mitchell’s abhorrent behaviour and the pain he has caused the victims, who have shown enormous bravery by coming forward and giving evidence in court,” he said.
“It is down to their courage that he has been convicted and faces a significant custodial sentence.
“I would also like to recognise the brave member of the public who came to the aid of one of the victims as she ran from Mitchell’s car.
“Mitchell not only carried out a sustained campaign of abuse against both of his victims, but he told one of them she would never be believed due to the fact he was a police officer.
“This brazen abuse of power makes Mitchell’s actions all the more deplorable.
“I know this is another case which will impact the confidence people have in us.
“We are doing more than we have done in decades to rid the Met of those who corrupt our integrity, including investing millions of pounds into our professional standards team and bringing in additional officers and staff with specialist skills and experience to investigate criminality and misconduct.
“Part of that is dismissing officers who should not be here at the earliest opportunity.
“Mitchell was dismissed from the Met in December 2023 – we did not wait for his conviction today.”
>>> Read full article>>>
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source : Human Events – http://humanevents.com/2024/02/21/uk-police-officer-who-called-himself-the-devil-convicted-of-13-rapes