A MAN convicted of rape in Antigua has been sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Former PC Lee Martin-Cramp, 26, was convicted in May following a trial in Antigua, he was sentenced at the High Court of Antigua and Barbuda on Thursday, 11 July.

Former PC Martin-Cramp, from Hereward Way, Lewes, who was previously attached to Merton borough, was arrested in June 2016 by the Met’s Extradition Unit after an allegation of rape was made.

The allegation, reported in June 2015, related to an offence committed against a woman in Antigua in May 2015.

PC Martin-Cramp was extradited to Antigua in September 2018, after an extradition request from the Antiguan authorities was granted on June 28, 2018, at Westminster Magistrates’ Court.

He will serve his sentence in Antigua.

A Special Case Hearing conducted by the Met’s Directorate of Professional Standards (DPS) in June found the allegations that that PC Martin-Cramp’s conduct amounted to a breach of the standards of professional behaviour in respect of discreditable conduct and honesty and integrity were proven and he was dismissed without notice.

Commander Catherine Roper, Professional Standards, said: “Former PC Martin-Cramp has been sentenced for an extremely serious offence.

“The evidence given during the trial included distressing details of how the victim trusted him because he was a police officer, and how he took advantage of that trust in the most deplorable way.

“The officer’s actions fell well below that of any decent person, but particularly a person whose job is to protect people and keep them safe.”