An ex-Metropolitan Police officer has been convicted of a string of rapes – with his victims including one aged just 16.
Adam Provan, 44, of Newmarket, Suffolk, was unanimously convicted by a jury of six counts of rape of a woman between 2003 and 2005, and two counts of rape of a teenage girl in 2010.
All the offences were all committed while he was a serving officer at East Area Command Unit.
Provan was previously convicted in November 2018 of the 2010 matters and jailed for nine years, and was dismissed from the Met in March 2019.
He appealed his convictions which were quashed in February 2022. A retrial began at Wood Green Crown Court for these matters on May 2, plus six new counts of rape, and a jury returning guilty verdicts yesterday.
Speaking afterwards, investigating officer Detective Sergeant Victoria James, Specialist Crime, said: “These are truly dreadful offences. Provan abused his position to win the trust of both these women. I hardly need to say Provan’s behaviour fell grossly short of what we expect from our police officers.
“The 2010 assault was brazen and calculated, with clear indication he had planned it beforehand. The second victim suffered a campaign of controlling and abusive behaviour and sexual violence.
“I commend the incredible courage of both women in helping us bring Provan to justice.
“The Commissioner has been extremely clear there is no place in the Met for anyone who does not uphold the highest standards and where there is criminality we will absolutely investigate and bring before the courts.”
The 2010 matters involved Provan and a 16-year-old girl, who he had been introduced to via her friend. Provan told her he was 22 – eight years younger than he actually was at the time.
On their first date, in late August 2010, he took the girl to some woods where he raped her. He then took her to Central Park, Harold Hill, and forced her to commit a sex act.
The girl told a relative she had been raped, and it was subsequently reported to police in May 2016. Police launched an investigation and arrested Provan in June 2016. After further enquiries, he was charged in September 2017.
Offences against the second victim, who was also known to Provan and a Met police officer, came to light during the police investigation. The court heard his behaviour towards the woman was violent, abusive and controlling. He raped her a total of six times.
Detectives worked to build a case against Provan and he was interviewed before being charged in August 2022 with six counts of rape.
The two matters were later joined at court.
Provan will be sentenced on August 21.
The Met has been rocked by a number of scandals in recent years. In 2021 serving firearms officer Wayne Couzens was jailed for life for the rape and murder of 33-year-old Sarah Everard a year earlier, while David Carrick, another firearms officer, was likewise handed a life sentence for multiple rapes committed over a 19-year-period. Provan had no links with either.
