By Lucy Caulkett-
A former Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) officer has been found guilty of raping a woman known to him following an investigation by specialist detectives.
Former PC Ireland Murdock, 26,(pictured) who was attached to the Central North Basic Command Unit before he was dismissed, was found guilty of rape on Monday (April 3) following a trial at Inner London Crown Court.
He will be sentenced at the same court on May 23.
His conviction of rape adds to the long list of disgraced officers, found guilty of atrocious criminal offences.
Statistics show that 2,000 police officers have been accused of sexual misconduct in the past four years, with 30 percent of officers, special constables or PCSO’S previously accused of similar wrongdoing
Murdock was dismissed from the force in July 2022 after he pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to unauthorised access to computer material after putting the victim’s name through a police system.
The Crown Court heard that on September 25, 2021, while he was off-duty, Murdock raped a woman who was known to him at the time.
Murdock searched for the name of his victim on a police system and accessed a restricted crime report relating to her. The Met has said it dismissed the former officer at the “earliest possible opportunity”.
On January 9, 2022, the woman reported the incident to the police. Murdock was arrested on January 11, 2022 and, following a thorough investigation by the MPS’s Central South Public Protection team, was subsequently charged on March 31, 2022.
The jury heard that in January 2022, after the woman made the report, Murdock searched for the victim’s name on a police system and accessed a restricted crime report relating to her, when he had “no policing purpose to so”.
Murdock appeared at Inner London Crown Court on May 27, 2022, where he pleaded not guilty to rape. During this appearance, a second charge of unauthorised access to computer material was put to him and he pleaded guilty to this.
As a result of his conviction, Murdock attended an accelerated hearing on July 15, 2022 where it was found that his conduct breached the Standards of Professional Behaviour with respect to discreditable conduct at the level of gross misconduct. He was dismissed without notice.
Chief Superintendent Andy Carter, who is in charge of policing for the Central North Basic Command Unit, said: “Murdock committed an absolutely atrocious offence, and caused his victim a lot of pain and fear. He betrayed everything we stand for and I am disgusted by his actions.
“I would like to thank the victim for her courage and bravery in coming forward. I would also like to thank those who investigated him for building such a strong case that led to him being found guilty.
“We took immediate action to suspend Murdock from duty when his offending came to light and we dismissed him at the earliest opportunity as soon as he pleaded guilty to unauthorised access to computer material.
“We are determined to have a Met that the public can trust, with officers that people feel confident to approach. When someone fails to meet these standards, we will take action to remove them from our organisation.”
Murdock has now been placed to the Barred List held by the College of Policing following his dismissal, meaning he cannot return to the service.