Former Met officer convicted of raping woman he met through police work

A jury at Southwark Crown Court found former Metropolitan Police officer Mark Tyrrell, 57, guilty on Tuesday of raping a woman he met through his police work. He was also convicted of three counts of sexual assault and of perverting the course of justice by trying to delete messages exchanged with her.

The Crown Prosecution Service said Tyrrell gained the woman’s trust after meeting her in the course of his duties, then began contacting her privately on his personal phone. Tyrrell told jurors that sex between them had always been consensual, according to court reports by the BBC and the Guardian.

The jury acquitted him of 13 other charges, including a second rape charge. Tyrrell had previously pleaded guilty to misconduct in public office and a separate count of perverting the course of justice. That earlier count concerned pressure he put on the woman to lie to police about why he was in her bedroom.

Tyrrell resigned from the Met in September 2023 after being arrested and suspended. A later misconduct hearing ruled that he would have been dismissed had he still been serving, and barred him from policing. He had been attached to the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command, where Wayne Couzens and David Carrick, both convicted of rape in separate cases, also served.

Tyrrell has been remanded in custody and is due to be sentenced on 16 December.