Cliff Mitchell, a former Metropolitan Police officer, was convicted on Wednesday of 13 counts of rape, including the rape of a child under 13, as well as kidnap and breach of a non-molestation order. The 24-year-old was recruited by the Met despite being accused of raping a child between 2014 and 2017, an investigation that was dropped in 2019.
Mitchell's crimes came to light when a passerby saw a female victim running through a street in Hackbridge, south-west London, shouting that he would kill her. He had raped her at knifepoint, blindfolded her with his hooded top, taped her mouth, and bound her hands with cable ties before forcing her into his car. She escaped by pretending to vomit.
The woman said Mitchell repeatedly attacked her between 2020 and 2023, using his status as a police officer to silence her, claiming no one would believe her. Some attacks occurred after he joined the Met in August 2021. Mitchell was sacked before the conviction.
The Met admitted that a child reported being raped by Mitchell between 2014 and 2017, but no further action was taken in 2019. After Mitchell's arrest in September 2023 for the rape of a woman, detectives reinvestigated the earlier case and charged him with both. The Met said vetting clearance in 2020 was in line with guidelines but acknowledged that under reformed procedures, Mitchell would not be allowed to join.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Stuart Cundy praised the victims' courage, stating: '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.'
