Police officer from Stevenage denies raping woman he met on dating app

A serving police officer from Stevenage accused of raping a woman he met on dating app Tinder has been remanded in custody.

Pc David Carrick, 46, "emphatically denies" assaulting the woman after the pair went for drinks in St Albans, Westminster Magistrates' Court heard on Monday.

Carrick is alleged to have taken the woman, who he met on the dating app in August 2020, back to a Premier Inn after visiting two pubs in the Hertfordshire town.

The alleged attack is said to have taken place the following morning. Carrick, who has been suspended from duty as a Metropolitan Police officer, was arrested on Saturday before being charged on Sunday.

He appeared by video link from a police station in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, wearing a white collared shirt, and spoke only to confirm his identity.

Defending Carrick, Ryan Dowding confirmed his client had been suspended from duty and said: "He emphatically denies the allegations."

Carrick, of Stevenage, Hertfordshire, was remanded in custody is next due to appear at St Albans Crown Court on November 1.