Met police PC is found guilty of rape after being accused of two previous sex attacks on women

Published: 09:31, 23 May 2026 | Updated: 09:37, 23 May 2026 A Metropolitan Police Officer has been found guilty of rape after he was accused of two previous sex attacks on women. Between 2018 and 2022, PC Rupert Edwards allegedly raped and sexually assaulted three women on separate occasions. Edwards reportedly carried out his first attack on New Year's Day in 2018 where he raped a woman. His next two alleged attacks took place just 11 days apart - when he is alleged to have raped one woman in Epsom, Surrey, on August 26 2022, and the other in Lambeth, south London, on September 5 2022. The police officer faced trial for these two alleged attacks in 2023, where a jury found him not guilty for the August 26 incident and failed to return a verdict for the second count of rape on September 5.  That same year, another woman contacted the police to report she had been raped by Edwards on January 1 2018. An investigation began and Edwards was arrested in April 2024 and he was later charged with rape on March 12 2025. During his trial, Southwark Crown Court heard evidence from the two 2022 cases - despite Edwards' acquittal - in order to demonstrate a pattern of behaviour. Edwards (pictured in a court sketch  in 2022). Following a trial at Southwark Crown Court, Edwards has been found guilty of raping a woman on New Year's Day in 2018  During a previous court case, Edwards  (pictured outside Inner London Crown Court in 2023)  was found not guilty of rape for an alleged attack in August 2022 and the jury failed to return a verdict for the second count of rape on September 5 2022 The jury were shown recorded interviews and court cross-examination of the victims as part of the prosecution case in this trial. Barristers also provided the jury with relevant context from those previous cases to support their understanding of the evidence.  This approach, agreed by the court, revealed concerning similarities in Edwards' behaviour and played a key role in securing his conviction.  Yesterday, Edwards was found guilty of rape for the 2018 attack. He is set to face an accelerated misconduct hearing by the Met Police, where he will be put forward for dismissal. Chief Superintendent Dan Knowles, in charge of policing for south west London, said: 'This was a despicable offence and I have huge admiration and gratitude for the victim for having the courage to come forward and report PC Edwards. 'Detectives in this case carried out a diligent investigation, ensuring PC Edwards was charged at the earliest opportunity and that the most compelling evidence was brought before the courts. 'It was a bold step to use evidence from his previous trial to support this latest prosecution and demonstrates our commitment to supporting victims of police perpetrated abuse. 'Dangerous offenders of all types who seek to harm women and girls will be relentlessly pursued and justice will be served. 'My message to anyone who may have experienced something that didn't feel right is that you can and should come forward. You will be listened to, and we will do everything we can to support you.' Edwards is due to be sentenced on Friday, July 10.   No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.