Wayne Couzens, Sarah Everard’s killer, sentenced to 19 months for indecent exposure

Wayne Couzens has been sentenced to 19 months for three offences of indecent exposure before he abducted, raped and murdered Sarah Everard.

The former Metropolitan Police officer is already serving a whole life sentence for the murder of Ms Everard, 33, in March 2021.

Following the sentencing, Rosemary Ainslie, head of the CPS special crime division called the crimes “abhorrent” saying he “caused great distress and discomfort for the victims”.

As it happened: Sarah Everard’s killer sentenced for indecent exposure

Couzens, 50, was sentenced to a total of 19 months for the first offence, which took place in woodland in Kent, and then six months each for the two later incidents, at a fast food restaurant in the county, to be served concurrently.

“This sentence will make no difference to the existing whole of life sentence, from which the defendant will never be released,” judge Mrs Justice May said.

Couzens had pleaded guilty to all three counts of indecent exposure in February.

A number of victims also spoke emotionally about the impact the incidents have had on them.

One said it has made her realise that some police officers could be a threat, and if Couzens had been held accountable at the time of the flashing, it could have saved Ms Everard.

“I felt like that could have been me. I still think about this now,” she said. “If he had been held accountable when we had reported the crime, we could have saved Sarah.”

Another woman wept as she said she “felt relieved” it wasn’t her, describing her feelings as “survivors guilt”.

DAC Stuart Cundy, who leads the Met’s Directorate of Professional Standards, said that she wishes Couzens “had been arrested for these offences before he went on to kidnap, rape and murder of Ms Everard.”

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“I am so sorry that he wasn’t,” she said. “The fact he did this whilst serving as a police officer has brought shame on all us who swore to protect the communities we serve.”

Couzens was on duty at time of incident

The incidents took place between November 2020 and February 2021.

On the first occasion, Couzens appeared naked in a narrow, rural lane in Deal – the Kent coastal town where he is from – and exposed his genitals as a woman cycled past.

He was on duty at the time, according to the prosecution.

The cyclist later reported the incident online to Kent Police. When Couzens was arrested over the disappearance of Ms Everard, she contacted police again, after recognising his picture.

Couzens also exposed himself to staff at a drive-thru McDonalds restaurant in Kent, on 14 and 27 February 2021.

On the last occasion, staff took a registration number and identified the car from CCTV as a black Seat which was registered to Couzens. A credit card in his name was also used for payment.

‘The horror will remain with me for the rest of my life’

Appearing in court via video link from Frankland Prison, Durham, Couzens did not react as statements from the women were read out in court.

The female cyclist said her “freedom” to enjoy country walks and cycling had been taken away by his “selfish, aggressive act”.

“Four months after you exposed yourself to me, you raped and murdered an innocent woman,” she told Couzens. “The horror of what happened will remain with me for the rest of my life.”

Another victim described she has now started to take public transport home from work. “I should feel able to walk home while feeling safe,” she said.

Mrs Justice May made it clear why it was important Couzens was sentenced for these other crimes, even if it makes no difference to the overall time he spends in prison.

‘Selfish, sexually aggressive acts’

She said it was an “administration of justice” but also acted as “some form of restitution for the victims”, with all three speaking “justly of their shock and upset at this defendant’s selfish, sexually aggressive acts”.

“One woman, after discovering who had done this and what he had gone on to do, speaks of a wholly understandable sense of survivor’s guilt,” the judge said.

“The fact that no police came to find him or his black car to question him about these incidents can only have served to confirm and strengthen in the defendant’s mind a dangerous belief in his invincibility, in his power sexually to dominate and abuse women without being stopped.”

Detective Chief Inspector Katherine Goodwin, who also investigated the murder of Ms Everard, thanked the victims who came forward. She said they have shown “strength and dignity” in the face of Couzens’ attempts to “scare and demean”.