Met probing if serial rapist officer attacked different girls
T
he Metropolitan Police confronted new disgrace because it emerged an officer uncovered as serial rapist may have been stopped if the power had acted sooner.
Scotland Yard introduced a evaluation of ex PC Adam Provan’s full service and earlier than he joined the Met to establish potential victims, who’re being inspired to return ahead.
Judge Noel Lucas KC blasted the Met as he jailed Provan, 44, for 16 years for a collection of rapes spanning eight years.
Assistant Commissioner Louisa Rolfe mentioned she was “ashamed and saddened” after the choose mentioned the power “were more concerned with looking after one of their own” than coping with complaints.
Judge Lucas informed Provan he had displayed a “cold-blooded entitlement to sex” as he abused his place to prey on girls and women.
At Wood Green Crown Court, the choose additionally mentioned 16-year-old sufferer Lauren Taylor would have been spared had a feminine police officer’s preliminary complaints in opposition to Provan’s behaviour been taken severely in 2005.
Ms Rolfe mentioned: “I feel very sad and very sorry, if that’s the case.
“We must understand have we missed opportunities and it’s quite clear from what we’ve seen already that we have let the victims down and that must never happen again.
“There is a chance and that really saddens me, we need to know the detail, we need to know what those opportunities that were missed might have meant for this case.”
The Met is trying root out predators inside its ranks following current scandals together with Sarah Everard’s assassin Wayne Couzens, who labored in the identical armed unit as one other serial rapist PC David Carrick.
Lauren Taylor waived her proper to lifetime anonymity (Aaron Chown/PA)
/ PA WireA evaluation by Baroness Louise Casey, revealed in March, discovered the power to be institutionally racist, misogynist and homophobic.
The Met is working to establish if there could also be additional victims of Provan and mentioned it could encourage anybody with data to return ahead.
Prosecutors mentioned Provan was obsessive about younger girls, had seen teenage pornography and picked up greater than 700 feminine contacts on his cell phone.
The Met is “looking” at probably contacting them, Ms Rolfe mentioned.
Ms Rolfe mentioned: “I understand a small number of those had contact details with them, some of them were just names, some of them contained derogatory information about women.
“We want to understand, I think the judge surmised that that indicated an obsession with young women and that is, of course, incredibly concerning.”
Asked if the Met will contact any of the ladies, she added: “If we have information that will enable us to do that, but also if anybody is concerned, then of course we are looking at what that means.
“We’ll be looking at those details and seeing what we can do.”
Judge Lucas informed the court docket that he struggled to see another cause for Provan having 751 names and numbers of ladies on his cellphone apart from his “fascination bordering on obsession with young women”. He discovered the defendant met the standards for being considered a “dangerous” offender.
Provan’s predatory behaviour dated again to the Nineties, and went unchecked till Ms Taylor got here ahead in 2016 to report she had been twice raped by him when she was 16.
Assistant Commissioner Louisa Rolfe
/ PAHer report got here 11 years after a feminine police officer had complained she was stalked and harassed by Provan, which resulted in phrases of warning.
In 2019 the officer reported to the police that he had additionally raped her six instances between 2003 to 2005.
Following a trial Provan, from Newmarket in Suffolk, was discovered responsible of a complete of eight rapes in opposition to the 2 girls and jailed for 16 years with an extra eight years on prolonged licence.
Another feminine officer complained in 2005 that Provan despatched her “nuisance” messages, however nothing was completed and the problem was handled “informally”, the court docket was informed.
He additionally allegedly contacted a 16-year-old woman after she gave her particulars as a witness in 2003.
Two different girls made allegations, however a rape case was not proceeded with and a sexual assault case resulted in acquittal.
In 2016 Ms Taylor got here ahead to say Provan raped her on a blind date when she was teenager in 2010.
Instead, Provan, then 31, took her to woods, the place he had intercourse together with her despite the fact that she repeatedly informed him no.
Afterwards he acted as if nothing had occurred and took Ms Taylor to a McDonald’s for a milkshake earlier than forcing her to interact in a intercourse act in a youngsters’s playground.
All the offences have been dedicated whereas Provan was a serving officer within the Met’s East Area Command Unit.
His first trial for the double rape of Ms Taylor resulted in a hung jury however he was convicted in 2018 and jailed for 9 years. The subsequent yr, he was dismissed from the Metropolitan Police.
He served three years and three months in jail – solely to be launched on bail after the Court of Appeal ordered a retrial.
At the recent trial Ms Taylor gave proof for a 3rd time and 6 extra fees of rape, referring to Provan’s earlier assaults on the feminine officer, have been added.
Lauren Taylor, then aged 16
/ PAFollowing his conviction in June, Ms Taylor mentioned: “No amount of justice will make me forget the date from hell.
“Even though I tried my best to block it out I will never forget how scared I was when the assault took place, and 13 years later reliving my worst nightmare.”
The second sufferer, who has not waived her lifelong proper to anonymity, informed the court docket Provan regarded himself as “untouchable” and bragged about being a “trained killer”.
She informed the court docket she feared he would kill her and accused the Met of failing to guard her and take care of him sooner.
Judge Lucas paid tribute to the ladies’s bravery and informed the officer that the therapy she obtained from the Met was “abysmal”, including: “I hope it never happens again. More than abysmal, it’s shocking.”
In his sentencing, Judge Lucas informed Provan: “The persistence and seriousness of your offending is clear when set out in these stark terms.
“What is particularly troubling about this case is that at the time of each of the offences you were a serving police officer – someone who members of the public had an entitlement to feel was a person of the very highest trustworthiness.
“By your actions you have brought disgrace on the police force.
“What struck me about Ms Taylor’s description of your behaviour towards her was the same cold blooded and chilling entitlement to sex, and sex in your preferred manner, followed immediately by conduct as if everything was perfectly normal. You exhibited this same behaviour with (the female officer).”
Ms Rolfe mentioned: “Both women have been enormously strong and courageous in giving evidence to the court – incredibly three times for one of the women – and ensuring Provan is now behind bars. I am so sorry for the pain and suffering he has caused them.
“We are examining Provan’s criminal and conduct history in the Met so we can fully understand whether we could have acted sooner to bring him before the courts, or have stopped him joining the police.
“This work is ongoing but we can already see there were key moments where we let women down and did not do all we could to support them. We have told the Independent Office for Police Conduct we are carrying out a review and advised them that we will make appropriate referrals.”
In an interview with the PA news company Ms Taylor mentioned “I don’t feel like I’ve done anything amazing. I just feel like I’ve done what I needed to do for me.”
Of Provan, she mentioned: “I’m angry at what he’s done to me. I’m angry about who he was. He was a police officer, and we go to them to be protected, and I wasn’t protected.
“And I’m angry for the lack of remorse that he’s shown throughout this whole process.
“The reason why I did the last retrial was because I wanted to make sure that he didn’t go out and harm anyone else.”