Former Met Police officer from Stevenage jailed for rapes and 'campaign of abuse' against victims

A former Metropolitan Police officer has been jailed for a “campaign of abuse” which included the rapes of two women.

Jake Cummings, of Stevenage, Hertfordshire, was a special constable in Dorset and then a police officer in London when he carried out a campaign of “extensive controlling, coercive behaviour” against three woman which covered a total of just under five years through to 2024.

He was jailed by St Alban’s Crown Court on Tuesday for a total of 16 years with a two-year extension for 10 offences.

He was found guilty by a jury of three counts of coercive controlling behaviour, two counts of voyeurism and two counts of rape at a retrial.

Cummings, 26, also admitted two counts of stalking and was found guilty by a jury of a third count of the same offence.

During sentencing, Judge Bilal Siddique said Cummings deployed a “strikingly similar pattern of abuse” against his victims.

Cummings bombarded them with messages and isolated them from friends, family and colleagues, and there was additional degradation and humiliation of the women he raped who suffered severe psychological harm.

The judge said “this was anything but impulsive offending”, adding: “The period of offending – it was nearly five years beginning in July 2019 to February 2024 – that can only be described as as nothing other than a campaign of abuse.”

During Cummings’ first trial, Met officer Zak Russell told the court: “I recall on shifts that he would be constantly on his phone and would be messaging someone at all hours.”

Police released footage of Cummings being arrested in bed in 2024.

Between July 2019 and February 2024, Cummings made the lives of his three victims a misery with his oppressive behaviour, the court heard.

Each recalled similar harrowing stories of harassment and coercive control. The offences included Cummings watching one of the victims using security cameras.

Victim impact statements read out in court demonstrated the pain and suffering that Cummings put his victims through.

One victim said: “It has had a significant psychological toll on me. I struggle to go out alone even now, I have to be on the phone to someone. I can’t walk the dog on my own anymore. I lock the car doors when I am driving.”

Another said: “He [Cummings] made me feel awful on a daily basis. I didn’t have a say in my own life; we did everything he wanted to do. I didn’t get a choice in what we did. I was told what to do constantly.” 

Jurors heard that he used phone apps called Life360 and Team Viewer to track the first complainant’s location, as well as creating multiple social media accounts to message her, and driving down the road where she lived uninvited.

Detectives began their investigation when a victim made a report in February 2024.

Media attention after he was charged led to a second victim coming forward later that month.

Officers identified a third victim through a download from Cummings’ mobile device in April 2024, Hertfordshire Constabulary said.

Cummings was sacked from the Met after a disciplinary hearing found he had committed gross misconduct.

Neil Vaughan, of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), said: “Jake Cummings thought that he was above the law, but his convictions prove otherwise.

“These women did not know one another, but together they painted a compelling picture which laid bare the vile pattern of abuse inflicted by Cummings.”

He said the CPS had worked closely with Hertfordshire Constabulary after the “complex investigation”.

Det Insp Dale Mepstead, from the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Major Crime Unit, said: “I am pleased to see that Cummings, a domestic abuse predator, has been brought to justice."

Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know