Woman allegedly raped by ex-Met Police officer 'screamed for help', jury told

A passer-by who helped a woman allegedly raped and kidnapped by a former Metropolitan Police officer said she heard her “screaming” for help in the middle of the road.

The alleged victim said she was trying to escape from former Pc Cliff Mitchell, who had approached her with a knife in September 2023 before tying her up with cable ties and putting tape over her mouth.

She alleges that Mitchell, 24, forced her and another person to get into his Audi, and only managed to escape by saying she had to get out of the vehicle because she felt sick.

The passer-by, who was sitting in her stationary car at the time, said she saw the “distressed” alleged victim running barefoot in the road approaching different vehicles to ask for help, Croydon Crown Court heard.

Traffic had come to a standstill and there was “screaming and shouting”, the woman said. She told the court that she asked the woman if she was ok before helping her into her car and driving away.

She told the woman to lie down and hide in the back of her Seat because it had tinted windows in the back.

When she looked in her rear view mirror, the woman saw a white Audi, believed to be Mitchell’s, “a few cars back” behind them, the court heard.

Having called 999, the pair were able to meet police officers when they arrived, jurors were told.

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Mitchell, of Wandsworth, south-west London, was a Pc in the Met’s West Area Basic Command Unit.

He was suspended from the force after the allegations came to light and has since been dismissed.

The former officer is charged with six counts of rape against a girl, including three when she was under 13.

Among these six charges of rape are three counts which state there were at least 30 other occasions where the girl may have been similarly assaulted.

All of the alleged offences took place between January 2014 and April 2017. The former officer is also charged with seven counts of rape against a woman between April 2020 and September 2023.

He is also charged with breaching a non-molestation order and two counts of kidnapping. Mitchell denies all the charges. The trial continues.

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