Boss of charity created after Hermitage double murder slams Metropolitan Police over David Carrick serial rape case

A CHARITY chief who lost family in a Hermitage double murder has spoken out in the wake of the Metropolitan Police serial rapist scandal.

Frank Mullane (pictured) created Advocacy After Fatal Domestic Abuse (AAFDA) after his sister and nephew were killed.

In November 2003 Mr Mullane's sister Julia Pemberton and her 17-year-old son Will were shot dead by her estranged husband, Alan Pemberton, at their home in Slanting Hill, Hermitage.

Mr Pemberton, a 48-year-old businessman, then turned the gun on himself.

Their daughter Laura, then aged 19, was away studying at Cambridge University and survived.

On Tuesday, January 17, Mr Mullane spoke out after Carrick pleaded guilty to 49 charges against 12 women spanning from 2003 to 2020.

The force is under mounting pressure to punish officers who allowed Carrick to continue serving for two decades despite multiple warnings about his violence towards women.

Mr Mullane recalled: "As a man who sought the help of police for his sister, I know how important it is that we are able to trust the police."

A Domestic Homicide Review into his sister and nephew's murder concluded Thames Valley police missed "significant opportunities" in identifying the danger posed by Mr Pemberton.

Mr Pemberton had started making threats to kill his wife when the couple separated in September 2002.

The review pointed to a series of failings, individual and systematic, within the force at the time.

Mr Mullane added on Tuesday: "Any woman seeking the help of the police should be able to feel certain that in so doing, they are in safe and capable hands.

"Public confidence in the police is an absolute and fundamental requirement for a society to work under the rule of law.

"The horrific actions of David Carrick will likely cause many women not to seek the help of the police.

"That the Met did not weed him out earlier may have an even more damaging effect and will frighten and stun many people.

"This ineffectiveness of the Met Police to derail Carrick earlier should bear the closest scrutiny and learning from that analysis should be vigorously applied."

Metropolitan Police assistant commissioner Barbara Gray has said in a statement: "On behalf of the Metropolitan Police, I want to apologise to the women who have suffered at the hands of David Carrick.

"I commend their outstanding bravery in coming forward and reporting the horrific crimes they were victims of.

"Carrick is a prolific, serial sex offender who preyed on women over a period of many years, abusing his position as a police officer and committing the most horrific, degrading crimes.

"He has devastated women’s lives.

"He has had a devastating impact on the trust and confidence of women and girls that we are working so hard to earn. He has devastated colleagues.

"He used the fact he was a police officer to control and coerce his victims. We know they felt unable to come forward sooner because he told them they would not be believed.

"We should have spotted his pattern of abusive behaviour and because we didn’t, we missed opportunities to remove him from the organisation.

"We are truly sorry that Carrick was able to continue to use his role as a police officer to prolong the suffering of his victims."