Police officer convicted of 13 rapes while serving in the Met

A Metropolitan Police officer and serial rapist who once told one of his victim's they'd 'met the devil' while he kidnapped her has been convicted of 13 counts of rape - six years after an investigation into previous attacks on a young girl were discontinued.

Cliff Mitchell, 24, approached one of his victims with a knife in September 2023 and told her to put her arms behind her back, before tying her up with cable ties and putting tape over her mouth.

He was found guilty of 10 counts of rape, three counts of rape of a child under 13, one count of kidnap and breach of a non-molestation order following a trial at Croydon Crown Court.

One of Mitchell's victims said he forced her and another person to get into his car and only managed to escape by saying she had to get out of the vehicle because she felt sick.

She was later seen running through traffic by members of the public before a passer-by noticed what was going on and managed to get her in her vehicle, his trial was told.

Mitchell, of Wandsworth, was a serving officer at the time and was later dismissed from the Met in December 2023 following an accelerated misconduct hearing.

In a 999 call played to the court, the distressed woman told the operator 'he's kidnapped me' and 'he's behind us' as she travelled in the car of the passer-by who had offered help.

A search of an address linked to Mitchell following his arrest found a bag containing cable ties, similar to those used to bind the victim’s wrists.

Mitchell had previously been subject to a rape investigation in 2017, which had resulted in no further action.

Following his arrest, the case was re-investigated and a file was passed to the CPS.

As a result he was charged with six further counts of rape of a girl relating to a second victim, between 2014 and 2017. The child was assaulted on at least 30 other occasions.

He was a PC in the Met's West Area Basic Command Unit and was serving in Hounslow when a number of the offences were committed, the Met said.

He was suspended from the force after the allegations came to light and has since been dismissed.