Two women raped by Met policeman from Stevenage, trial told
Mr Thacker gave details of allegations made by the two women when opening the case on Monday.Cummings had been in relationships with each woman and had raped one in 2021 and the other in 2024, he said.He added that Cummings had told police investigating the women's allegations that sex was consensual.The two women lived in different parts of Britain and did not know each other, Mr Thacker told the trial.He said the behaviour and stalking offences Cummings had either been found guilty of or admitted related to the two women.
Mr Thacker said Cummings raped one of the women in 2021 when they were still in a relationship.He said Cummings wanted sex but the woman did not."However she was extremely concerned about him getting angry," Mr Thacker told jurors."She therefore submitted to having sexual intercourse with him."He said Cummings had raped the woman and added: "She was forced in all the circumstances to have sexual intercourse with him."
Mr Thacker said Cummings had raped the second woman after they met following the end of their relationship."He asked her for sex," said Mr Thacker."She said no."Mr Thacker added: "He does not take no for an answer."He said Cummings was a "serving police officer" when the women were raped.Cummings had been a special constable in Dorset in 2018 until he joined the Metropolitan Police in November 2019, Mr Thacker told the jury.
Judge Bilal Siddique told jurors that the two women could not be identified as rape victims in reports.The trial continues.
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They, and another 16 children who were at the club, also suffered significant psychological trauma, Sir Adrian said. Rudakubana, who was 17 at the time, was given a life sentence, with a minimum term of 52 years - one of the highest minimum terms on record - after pleading guilty to the murders and attempted murders, plus other offences, in January. Soon afterwards, Sir Adrian, a former vice-president of the Court of Appeal, was appointed by the Home Secretary Yvette Cooper to carry out a 'forensic investigation' into the events on July 29. He said it was 'truly critical' that the inquiry gets answers for the families of Rudakubana's victims and makes recommendations to prevent anything similar happening in the future. The hearings will examine why several agencies, including the police, the courts, the NHS and social services, who all had contact with Rudakubana, failed to identify the risk he posed. It will also investigate whether the attack could or should have been prevented. Three separate referrals were made to Prevent, the Government's counter-terror programme, about Rudakubana's behaviour, between December 2019 and April 2021, as well as six separate calls to police. A review into the Prevent referrals, published in February, found he posed sufficient risk to keep his cases active but too much focus was placed on a lack of distinct ideology and they were closed prematurely. The inquiry will draw on evidence from interviews with witnesses and disclosure from 15 organisations, including MI5, Counter-Terrorism Policing, NHS England and Merseyside Police. Sir Adrian said 'for the benefit of the victims and their families' Rudakubana would not be named during the hearings, but instead be referred to as 'the perpetrator' or by his initials, AR. He also read out the names of the three girls who died and the 23 ciphers - the letters or numbers - that the inquiry is using for the ones who survived, but whose anonymity is protected. He has also urged the media not to use the mugshot of Rudakubana, issued by Merseyside police, in their reporting of the inquiry because of the 'distress' it caused to the young survivors. He said he had spoken to relatives of the girls present at the dance class, who had told him they found repeated use of it to be 'terrifying.' 'Seeing the face of the perpetrator, often without any warning, has the potential to be significantly retraumatising,' Sir Adrian said. He added that the continued use of the mugshot also risked 'disrupting the process of rebuilding broken lives.' As part of a moving tribute, those seated in the inquiry chamber, at Liverpool Town Hall, where the hearings are being held, were also asked to stand for a minute's silence to remember Alice, Elsie and Bebe. 'The perpetrator is responsible for one of the most egregious crimes in our country's history,' Sir Adrian said. 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The chairman said he was determined that the hearings would 'not turn into an exercise of papering over the cracks' but would act as a 'real engine for change.' He also said that the present Crime and Policing Bill, which has passed its second reading in the House of Commons, includes the provision of Youth Diversion Orders, which are aimed at anyone aged under 22 that is involved in terrorist offending, in order to 'divert them from the wider criminal justice system', including prosecution. But he pointed out that Rudakubana's crimes were not terror-related and the inquiry will, therefore, look closely at whether the State should be able to impose restrictions on individuals if there is strong evidence that they intend to commit serious violent crimes per se. Measures such as imposing curfews, tags, or placing restrictions on their movement or ability to use the internet and social media, or to require psychological intervention until the risk is deemed to have been reduced. Sir Adrian said he expected all organisations and witnesses taking part in the hearings to be candid and 'frank' and to 'volunteer information about errors' and things which went wrong. He said he expected his first report on the first phase of the inquiry to be completed by early next year at the latest. Rachael Wong, director at law firm Bond Turner, representing the three bereaved families, said they would be doing all they could to help Sir Adrian get to the 'truth.' 'We know that nothing the inquiry reveals or subsequently recommends will change the unimaginable loss felt by the families of Elsie, Alice and Bebe, but we all now have a responsibility to ensure that something like this never happens again,' she said. 'We will be doing all we can to assist the chair through the inquiry and uncover the truth. 'It is only through intense public scrutiny that real change can be effected.' Impact statements from parents of four child survivors will be read to the inquiry tomorrow. The hearings will then be adjourned until September, when more statements from the remaining relatives of victims and survivors will continue. The second phase will look at the more wider 'troubling trend' of children being drawn into extreme violence and what can be done to reverse this, the chairman added. The widespread rioting and civil unrest following the murders is not being examined by the inquiry.
