A police officer and serial rapist who once told one of his victims they’d ‘met the devil’ while he kidnapped her has been convicted of 13 counts of rape in the United Kingdom.
The conviction comes six years after an investigation into previous attacks on a young girl was discontinued.
Cliff Mitchell, 24, 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 she 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.
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.
Mitchell, of Wandsworth, was dismissed from the Met in December 2023 following an accelerated misconduct hearing.
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.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Stuart Cundy described Mitchell’s actions as ‘deplorable’.
He continued: ‘This is a truly shocking case and I am sickened by Mitchell’s abhorrent behaviour and the pain he has caused the victims, who have shown enormous bravery by coming forward and giving evidence in court.
‘It is down to their courage that he has been convicted and faces a significant custodial sentence.
‘I would also like to recognise the brave member of the public who came to the aid of one of the victims as she ran from Mitchell’s car.
‘Mitchell not only carried out a sustained campaign of abuse against both of his victims, but he told one of them she would never be believed due to the fact he was a police officer.
‘This brazen abuse of power makes Mitchell’s actions all the more deplorable.
‘I know this is another case which will impact the confidence people have in us.
‘We are doing more than we have done in decades to rid the Met of those who corrupt our integrity, including investing millions of pounds into our professional standards team and bringing in additional officers and staff with specialist skills and experience to investigate criminality and misconduct.
‘Part of that is dismissing officers who should not be here at the earliest opportunity.
‘Mitchell was dismissed from the Met in December 2023 – we did not wait for his conviction today.’
