‘Predator’, former Met police officer, sentenced to 24 years for 13 rapes in offenses against three girls

A “predatory” former Metropolitan Police officer has been jailed for 24 years after being found guilty of 13 counts of rape and sexual assault.

Anthony Smith committed the sexual offenses against three girls as a Met officer between 1993 and 1997.

An investigation was launched in 2020 when one of his victims came forward and reported that she had been abused by Smith as a teenager.

The other two complainants came forward shortly afterwards, Guildford Crown Court heard.

One victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said he “manipulated” and “controlled” her and made her feel “worthless and scared”.

He was jailed at Guildford Crown Court on Friday after being convicted of the offenses following a trial in June.

Smith, 56, of Oatlands Drive, Weybridge, Surrey, left the Met in 2004 after being convicted of gross indecency with a child in an unrelated case.

His abuse of the girls came to light in 2020 when one of his victims came forward, leading to his other two victims later raising the alarm, Surrey Police said.

One victim told the court: “To the outside world you were a pillar of the community, a shining example of a police officer – and yet here you were, abusing your position of trust, which left me feeling powerless, guilty and ashamed for it “What I was.”

All three victims described how Smith raped and sexually abused them multiple times over several years.

Smith, from Weybridge, Surrey, denied the allegations but was convicted of 13 offenses after a three-week trial.

He had worked as a swimming instructor in Llandudno, Wales, before joining the Met in 1987 and was a civil servant throughout the abuse.

Det Sgt Matt Cable, of Surrey Police, said following the case: “The sentence he received today reflects the extent of his predatory behavior in which he targeted young girls and exploited them for his own gratification. “