Former Metropolitan Police officer found guilty of raping woman

A former Metropolitan Police officer has been found guilty of rape.

Ireland Murdock, 26, who was a police officer in north London at the time of the crime, was found guilty of rape at Inner London Crown Court on Monday.

The court heard that Murdock raped the victim off-duty on September 25, 2021.

On January 9, 2021, the woman reported the rape to police and Murdock was arrested two days later.

The court heard how, after the victim went to police, Murdock used police systems to search for her name and access a locked criminal file on her without having any legitimate reason to do so.

On 27 May last year, he appeared before Inner London Crown Court and denied rape, but admitted the second charge, accessing computer material without authorisation.

He was kicked out of the Met in July for gross misconduct after pleading guilty to the second charge.

Met Police Chief Andy Carter, the most senior police officer in charge of the Islington and Camden unit where Murdock worked, said: “Murdock committed an absolutely heinous offence and inflicted great pain and anguish on his victim.

“He has betrayed everything we stand for and I am disgusted by his actions.

“I would like to thank the victim for his courage and bravery in coming forward. I would also like to thank those who investigated him for providing such strong evidence to find him guilty.

“We took immediate action and suspended Murdock from duty when his offense came to light, and we fired him at the first opportunity when he pleaded guilty to unauthorized access to computer materials.

“We are committed to having a Met that the public can trust, with officers that people feel comfortable dealing with. If someone fails to meet these standards, we will take action to remove them from our organisation.”

Murdock’s sentencing is scheduled for Tuesday, May 23.