He was known as ‘The Rapist’: Pressure grows on Met over killer cop as his nickname is revealed
He was known as ‘The Rapist’: Pressure grows on Met over killer cop Wayne Couzens as his nickname is revealed and how he was caught flashing SIX YEARS ago – three years before he was hired in London
- Wayne Couzens’ ex-colleagues at Civil Nuclear Constabulary gave him nickname
- It also emerged that he was suspected of driving naked from waist down in 2015
- The claim comes as several women make historic accusations of harassment
- Met under pressure to investigate how he was able to continue serving as officer
The Met Police hired Sarah Everard‘s killer despite him being disturbingly nicknamed ‘The Rapist’ and the claim that he drove around naked in 2015 – three years before he was hired in London, it has emerged.
Wayne Couzens’ ex-colleagues at the Civil Nuclear Constabulary (CNC), where the 48-year-old joined in March 2011, reportedly gave him the nickname because he made some female officers feel uncomfortable.
It has also come to light that Kent Police – with whom he volunteered from 2005 to 2009 – received a complaint from a male motorist that a man had been spotted driving around Dover naked from the waist down.
No arrests were made and the fact it was suspected to be Couzens was kept secret until yesterday when the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) revealed the crime from June 2015.
The claim comes as several women step forward to make historic accusations of harassment following Couzens’ arrest, reports The Sun.
The Met is under pressure to investigate how Couzens, who pleaded guilty to murdering 33-year-old Ms Everard after snatching her off the street, was able to continue serving as an officer despite suspicions being raised about his behaviour.
Wayne Couzens’ ex-colleagues at the Civil Nuclear Constabulary (CNC), where the 48-year-old (pictured above) joined in March 2011, reportedly nicknamed him ‘The Rapist’ because he made some female officers feel uncomfortable
Couzens has pleaded guilty to murdering 33-year-old Sarah Everard (pictured above) after snatching her off the street while she walked home from a friend’s house in Clapham in March
The IOPC revealed the 2015 allegation as it confirmed Couzens was suspected of two other indecent exposures feared not to have been properly probed by the Met force days before he killed Sarah.
Despite the past cases, Couzens was still a member of the elite Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection squad at the time of Sarah’s killing – a role that entitled him to carry a firearm and a Metropolitan Police warrant card.
He was also equipped with a Heckler and Koch G36 rifle while working at the CNC, as part of the team protecting Sellafield and later Dungeness nuclear power station.
His odd behaviour there is rumoured to have been what made female workers feel uneasy – although the Civil Nuclear Police Federation confirmed there were no official complaints about him.
In total, Couzens had been accused of indecent exposure three times before he abducted Ms Everard in Clapham, south London, on March 3.
He pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey to the murder of the marketing executive on Friday, having previously admitted her kidnap and rape.
Five members of Ms Everard’s family were joined by Met Police Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick in court to watch as Couzens, head bowed and shaking, entered his whispered plea by video link from Belmarsh prison.
During the 20-minute hearing Lord Justice Fulford discussed the possibility of a whole-life order as he adjourned sentencing until September 29.
Dame Cressida spoke to the family before making a statement on the steps of the Old Bailey.
She said that she had told the Everard family ‘how very sorry I am for their loss, for their pain and their suffering’.
She said: ‘All of us in the Met are sickened, angered and devastated by this man’s crimes – they are dreadful. Everyone in policing feels betrayed.’
The wife of Couzens also told of her horror at the police officer’s sickening crimes and her distress at failing to spot any warning signs in the months before Ms Everard’s kidnap and murder.
Speaking exclusively to MailOnline, Elena Couzens, 38, said: ‘I keep on asking ‘why?’ What Wayne did wasn’t human behaviour.’
His wife of 15 years said she is still picking up the pieces of her shattered life and rebuilding it together with the couple’s two young children.
‘If I had any idea what was going on in Wayne’s head, then none of this would’ve happened but I didn’t know anything,’ she said.
‘He didn’t appear to be acting strangely. I didn’t notice anything was wrong. I’m working full time, most of the time I’m dropping the children off at school and picking them up, I have a really busy lifestyle.
‘I can’t comprehend it because he never once previously showed any glimpse of violence, he was never that way. I’m just as puzzled as everyone else.
In total, Couzens (pictured above) had been accused of indecent exposure three times before he abducted Ms Everard in Clapham, south London, on March 3
Wayne Couzens seen in a court sketch during a previous hearing relating to the case. He pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey to the murder of the marketing executive on Friday
A number of areas were searched in Clapham as police tried to look for the missing 33-year-old in March this year before they turned the hunt to Kent
‘I saw nothing wrong. He had a beautiful family, a good house… what else did he need? I’m constantly asking myself “where I did miss the signs?” How on earth could this have happened?’
Harriet Wistrich, director of the Centre for Women’s Justice, is among those calling for a full public inquiry into ‘police failures and misconduct and the wider culture of misogyny’ following Couzens’ guilty plea.
Ms Everard’s murder sparked protests by women fearing for their own safety earlier this year.
Ms Wistrich said: ‘As protesters made clear, women do not feel safe and it is incumbent on the Government and all criminal justice agencies to now take action over the epidemic of male violence which is the other public health crisis of our day.’
Nick Thomas Symonds, the shadow home secretary, has also urged police to review their vetting process.
Sarah’s family leave the Old Bailey after a previous hearing where Couzens made two guilty pleas. Her father Jeremy is seen on the left, with her sister Katie who can be seen on the right
CCTV footage of Sarah Everard captured earlier on the night she was kidnapped in south London in March this year
The Labour MP said: ‘Society puts huge trust in the police to keep us safe and the vast majority of officers who serve their communities so bravely who will all be appalled by this case.
‘It is absolutely vital that everything possible is done to ensure this can never happen again.
‘The Metropolitan Police and wider policing must look at vetting processes and their own safeguarding systems to ensure people who pose a threat to the public are not able to hold such vital positions of trust.’
The IOPC has launched an investigation into alleged failures by Kent Police to investigate the indecent exposure allegation against Couzens dating back to 2015.
An IOPC probe is also ongoing into alleged failures by the Met to investigate two allegations of indecent exposure linked to Couzens in London in February this year, with two officers under investigation for possible breaches of professional standards.
The watchdog said a total of 12 gross misconduct or misconduct notices have so far been served on police officers from several forces relating to the Couzens case.
