A judge sentenced killer Wayne Cousins for a series of lewd exposures in 2021, saying his ability to get away with crime may have encouraged him.
Deputy Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Stuart Cundy has apologized for failing to arrest Sarah Everard before kidnapping, raping and killing him in March 2021.
Couzens, 50, pleaded guilty to three lewd acts, once in a wooded area in November 2020 and twice at the same fast food restaurant in February 2021, all in Kent.
He was imprisoned at the Old Bailey on Monday, serving an additional 19 months in prison.
The two fast food restaurant violations occurred in a portion of Kent, which is under the jurisdiction of the London Metropolitan Police, and Cundy apologized at the time that Cousins was not identified as the offender.
“Like many, I wish he had been arrested for these charges before he kidnapped, raped and murdered Sarah Everard. I think,” Kandi said.
“I was able to save Sarah.”
One of the women Couzens approached at a drive-thru restaurant told the court: It was after Sarah’s murder that I got involved. We could have saved Sarah if he had been held accountable when we reported the crime.
Judge Juliette May, who sentenced Cousins, said: His invincibility, his power to sexually dominate and abuse women without being stopped.
The court heard that his seat car registration number, AF12 XXW, was clearly identifiable on the CCTV footage and that he used his credit card to pay for the meal.
It is believed that Cousins, who was with the London Metropolitan Police’s Parliamentary Diplomatic Protection Command at the time of his murder, used a police warrant card to trick Everard into getting into the back seat of an unmarked car.
He then drove her to Kent with her arms handcuffed behind her back, where he transferred her to his car, raped her, murdered her, and set her body on fire.
If he had been identified for public indecency, he would almost certainly have been suspended and had his warrant revoked.
On Monday, Kandi said: I have read the statement on the impact on the victims and the hurt and trauma he inflicted on them is clear. I think ”
The Met’s reaction to reports of obscene exposure at a drive-thru restaurant is being investigated by a police oversight agency, and officers face a misconduct hearing.
The first offense occurred in Deal, Kent in November 2020, when Cousins exposed himself to a female cyclist on a country road.
She reported it to Kent police, and in a statement about the impact on victims, she said she didn’t feel “it wasn’t taken as seriously as I thought it should be.”
Cyclists feared Cousin would commit a worse crime
The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said: This is what happened.
She told Cousins at the sentencing hearing: There were opportunities to identify you, but they were not taken away. ”
“The horror of what happened will stay with me for the rest of my life,” the cyclist added.
Judges said some victims of the obscene exposure suffered from “survivor guilt.”
“The fact that he did this while on duty as a police officer was a disgrace to all of us who swore to protect the communities we serve,” Kandy said.
The Independent Police Conduct Office (IOPC) on Monday released a report on “inappropriate and discriminatory comments” made by Cousins and other police officers on a WhatsApp group in 2019 (pdf).
Kent Police told the Epoch Times they would not comment on Cousins’ verdict.
PA Media contributed to this report.