Former officer jailed for raping woman

Ireland Murdock, 27, was also sentenced to six weeks imprisonment for computer misuse, to run consecutively, following a hearing at Inner London Crown Court on Thursday (June29).

He had been found guilty of rape on April 3 following a trial at the same court.

Murdock – who was attached to the Central North Command Unit – was dismissed from the MPS in July 2022 when he pleaded guilty to unauthorised access to computer material after putting the victim’s name through a police system.

The court heard that on September 25, 2021, while he was off-duty, Murdock raped a woman who was known to him at the time.

On January 9, 2022, the woman reported the incident to the police. Murdock was arrested two days later 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 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 had pleaded not guilty to rape when he appeared at Inner London Crown Court on May 27, 2022. 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.

Murdock was added to the Barred List held by the College of Policing.

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.”