A teenager has been convicted of 22 counts of rape against six separate victims.
Kevarnie Queen, 19 [3.5.04] of Barrington Road, SW9 was convicted after a trial at Inner London Crown Court.
Queen was remanded in custody to appear at the same court on 13 October for sentencing.
Detective Constable Jennie Seward, investigating, said: “Queen’s disregard for the young women’s rights to consent, and his complete lack of respect for them, is disgraceful. He treated the women as objects to use for his own gratification.
“The bravery of these young women attacked by Queen is humbling. As police officers we of course understand that taking part in a police investigation and attending court is extremely challenging, but these courageous women have done just that. Their actions will, no doubt, have prevented this from happening to other young women.”
The court heard how Queen had met all but one of the six victims on social media, where he’d use his street name of ‘K1’ as his username. Queen would manipulate the victims and go on to rape them.
The multiple offences were committed over a three-year period from May 2019, when he was 15, to 2022 when he was 18-years-old.
Prior to May 2022, police had received multiple allegations of sexual offences against Queen, but in each case the victims were unable to provide a formal interview or support an investigation as they did not feel ready because of what had happened to them.
However, on 7 June 2022, Queen was arrested on suspicion of rape after a report was made to police on 31 May 2022 where the victim felt able to make a formal report and support a criminal investigation.
Officers then made contact with the previous victims and five agreed to support the investigation, supported by specialist officers.
The investigation into Queen uncovered some upsetting details. Some of the victims had been taken by Queen to tower blocks where he raped them in communal stairwells.
Others spoke of being in relationships in which they were emotionally manipulated, allowing for the abuse to be minimised by Queen.
Queen preyed on his victims, making them think the sexual abuse they had been subjected to was a normal part of being in a relationship.
Queen’s defence was that he had cheated on all of the victims and as a result they had got together to teach him a lesson – but this was proven to be false.
Detective Constable Lena Kraemer, said: “We are doing everything we can to ensure that sexual predators who make our streets unsafe for women and girls are placed before the courts. We can’t do that alone. If you have been the victim of a sexual offence and have not yet spoken to police, we urge you to do so; at the very least so we can ensure that you are being supported.
As demonstrated in this case, without the information provided about Queen, the full details of his offending may not have come to light.
We understand that supporting a police investigation for sexual assault is a daunting prospect but with police and professional support we can ensure your voice is heard.
“If you have any information about sexual predators please inform police directly or via Crimestoppers as this helps to build a picture providing police with the tools to prevent and detect crime.”
Detective Inspector Ian Kenward, Senior Investigating Officer, added: “I am pleased with the conviction and would like to pay tribute to the tremendous courage shown by the young women targeted by Queen. Their support has led to a dangerous predatory offender being taken off the streets and I am immensely grateful.
“I would also like to thank the team, in particular the officers in the case DCs Seward and Kraemer who have worked tirelessly with the CPS to bring Queen to justice.”
