If found guilty, Detective Constable Carl Ryan sounds like a stand-up kind of a guy. The 35-year-old former policeman is currently standing trial for misconduct relating to faking records of rape DNA kits. Oh, did we mention that he works for Sapphire, the Metropolitan Police's specialised unit to deal with sexual offence cases? Yeah.
Yesterday, as part of his trial, the jury at Southwark Crown Court heard that Carl claimed that the DNA evidence in the case of a woman raped at knifepoint came back negative when in fact, he hadn't sent the evidence off to be tested. They jury also heard that in another case, this time of a woman raped after her drink was spiked, Carl again recorded a negative DNA results from a condom when in fact, he had again failed to send it off for analysis.
Prosecutor Eloise Marshall also told the court that Carl made up witness statements and told a doctor who had been accused of sexual assault that he was off the hook, when in fact, the prosecution hadn't yet recieved his file.
Carl Ryan denies the charges, but has been dismissed by the police force. Eloise Marshall called him 'quite a convincing and manipulative liar'.
According to charity Rape Crisis, 11 rapes occur hourly in England and Wales alone. That's 85,000 women and 12,000 men. Of these, just 5.7% end up in a conviction. Here's hoping cases like this highlight a serious need for reform.
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.