Former Metropolitan Police officer Adam Provan has been jailed for 16 years – with another eight years on extended licence for multiple rapes against a teenage girl and a female police officer.
The 44-year-old was convicted in June of six counts of rape of a fellow police officer between 2003 and 2005.
He was also found guilty of two counts of rape of a 16-year-old girl, who he met on a blind date after lying about his age in 2010. She has now waived her lifelong right to anonymity.
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Woman raped by Met officer speaks out
Judge Noel Lucas said he was troubled by the way the Met handled the female police officer’s initial complaints about Provan’s behaviour in 2005.
He said those who dealt with the complaints at the Met “were more concerned with looking after one of their own than taking her seriously” – and had an investigation been taken forward, the teenage victim may have been spared.
Sentencing Provan at Wood Green Crown Court, the judge said he displayed a “cold-blooded entitlement to sex” then immediately behaved as if everything was “completely normal”.
He concluded that the “persistence and seriousness” of Provan’s offending was clear, adding: “By your actions, you brought disgrace on the police force.”
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‘Provan had ‘fascination bordering on obsessive’ with young women
Provan was a serving officer in the Met Police East Area Command Unit at the time of the offences.
He was jailed for nine years in 2018 after being convicted of raping the 16-year-old victim following a retrial – and served three years and three months in prison before a successfully appeal.
When his case was sent for a third trial in May, six new counts of rape were added – relating to earlier offences against the serving Metropolitan Police officer.
On the first day of a two-day sentencing hearing, it was revealed that Provan had 751 female contacts in his mobile. They were accompanied with derogatory comments – some suggesting sexual activity with them.
Prosecutor Anthony Metzer KC said details from the phone “strongly suggested” there was sexual activity with the women – many of whom were young – but only 50 of the contacts had phone numbers associated with them.
Mr Metzer said Provan used his position to gain the trust of young women and had “aspects of a Jekyll And Hyde character”.
He added that Provan had an “extended history of allegations” of sexual misconduct dating back to the 1990s.
After the sentencing, Mr Metzer said Provan has shown he was a “significant danger to women” while working as a police officer.
“The way Provan chose to defend himself against these allegations shows that he has no insight into these serious offences, and no remorse,” he said.
“This case further illustrates the need for vigilance in recruitment, screening and safeguarding processes within our police forces.”
The female police officer he raped, who still serves in the force, said she had “lived in constant fear” that Provan would kill her, and felt he saw himself as “untouchable”.
She told the court that she also felt the police had not dealt with Provan and had failed to protect her.
The Metropolitan Police says it is working to identify if there are further victims – and his full history in the force is being reviewed.
Assistant Commissioner Louisa Rolfe described him as a “dangerous offender” and said: “I am sure the public will be as shocked and revolted at Provan’s offences as we are here in the Met. He abused his position as a police officer to win the trust of both these women. His actions are utterly deplorable.”
She added “there were key moments where we let women down” – and the Met is “sincerely sorry” that the serving officer’s allegations were not taken seriously.
“The Met is transforming and I hope I can say with confidence her concerns would not be dismissed today,” Ms Rolfe said in a statement. “While we do not underestimate the impact of cases like this on the trust and confidence of women and girls that we are working so hard to earn, we would encourage anyone in a similar situation to report allegations.”
A spokesperson for London Mayor Sadiq Khan described it as a “truly horrendous case” – adding: “The mayor is committed to holding the Met to account and supporting the commissioner, Sir Mark Rowley, to root out police officers who are unfit to serve and deliver the urgent police reforms needed as we continue building a safer London for everyone.”