Stephen Port: Detective admits ‘terrible mistake’ went unrecorded in previous rape drug allegation against killer

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A senior detective has apologized to the families of the victims of killer Stephen Port after admitting to making a “terrible” mistake during the investigation.

While investigating whether the lives of the Port victims could have been saved had police acted differently, Detective Sgt.Martin O’Donnell said he regretted not reporting information about a previous one. drug rape allegation.

The detective also said he had not started a search for Stephen Port in the National Police Database, reports PA.

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This meant he was unaware that the British Transport Police had recorded that Port had been found at Barking Station, a short walk from his apartment in east London, with another man who was under the influence of drugs.

This happened the same month Port used a lethal dose of GHB against his first victim, Anthony Walgate, 23.

Victims of serial killer Stephen Port (left to right) Daniel Whitworth, 21, Jack Taylor, 25, Anthony Walgate, 23 and Gabriel Kovari, 22 (Image: PA Archive / PA Images)

In another mistake, the detective who was responsible for advancing the investigation for the first seven months did not quickly and properly review the evidence on Port’s laptop.

When the laptop was examined more than a year after Port first knocked it down, it was discovered that he had researched rape pornography involving young men and boys while setting up a meeting with Mr. Walgate’s escort.

Mr O’Donnell said: “I can only deeply apologize to the families for not being able to do this (laptop research) to the standard they expected.

“It was there on his laptop and we should have had it. We should have had it.”

He denied the charge, brought by Kiera Brennan, one of Mr Walgate’s friends, that the police “struck him (Mr Walgate)” because he was a male escort.

The investigation is taking place at Barking Town Hall (Image: Adrian Cable / Creative Commons)

The investigation found that Port was initially arrested on suspicion of raping a man in December 2012, but the case was closed when the alleged victim withdrew her statement, although she again said the chief Port, 46, had “forced” him to have sex after giving. him drugs.

But Mr O’Donnell has not updated the Crime Reporting Information System (CRIS), which records the progress of an investigation for his colleagues to see.

He told the Barking Town Hall hearing: “It sounds like a pretty big mistake on my part not to include it in this document.

“It’s a terrible mistake that I didn’t put it there.”

The inquest had previously heard that Port had repeatedly altered his account of Mr Walgate’s death – first telling emergency services that he stumbled upon the student in collapsed mode by the shared entrance to his building on June 19, 2014, to later admit that he had agreed to meet the young escort for sex.

Andrew O’Connor QC, lawyer for the investigation, said: “Stephen Port lied to the police about his relationship with Anthony, there were suspicions his death was caused by drugs, and you have a story detailed that he (Port) imposed drugs on her (the rape complainant) on more than one occasion. “

Mr O’Donnell replied: “Yes, you are absolutely right, it should have been on this report.”

The detective’s testimony echoed testimony from other officers that his team had been overworked at the time.

He said: “There was tremendous pressure in the office at the time.

“We talked about what we were doing at the time as rotating plates – you were rushing to one plate that seemed to crash, then another plate that seemed to crash. It was easy to miss out. things.”

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His colleagues, Detective Constable Nainesh Desai and Detective Constable David Parish, previously explained to the inquest how they made mistakes in the deaths.

Mr Desai said he had failed to make a connection between the first two deaths – although the two victims were young gay men, found a short distance from the Port apartment, and who fell apart. later revealed to have been drugged – while Mr Parish did not send the predator’s laptop for analysis within days of his first strike.

Jurors are asked to assess whether the lives of the victims could have been saved if the police had acted differently.

Port was originally jailed in March 2015 for lying about Mr Walgate’s death, but was released to kill a fourth time before his murder spree was cut short.

Mr Walgate, Gabriel Kovari, 22, Daniel Whitworth, 21, and Jack Taylor, 25, were all found dead near the Port apartment during a 16-month period between June 2014 and September 2015 .

Port was convicted at the Old Bailey in 2016 of the four murders and sentenced to life imprisonment.

The investigation is continuing.

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