13 years in prison for "predatory" man who sexually assaulted children

Tuesday 26 June 2018

A 78-year-old who sexually assaulted four girls aged between four and 14, starting in the 1970s, has been sentenced to 13 years in prison by the Royal Court.

Wilfred Stanley Morrish had admitted guilt to nine counts of indecent assault, and three related to "acts of gross indecency," earlier this year.

Setting out the case for the prosecution, Crown Advocate Matthew Maletroit said that all four victims experienced lasting mental health difficulties as a result of the abuse. One of them said she went through a very difficult time after the abuse started, "I hated my life and I was very sad and felt very alone and angry." She misbehaved, was described as being "horrible to everyone" and a difficult child to the extent she was referred to the Child Psychiatric Unit. 

Another victim said she was a very confused young child "wondering if this happened to everyone else and if this was just part of life." She wrote in a letter to the court she was constantly living in fear of Morrish, and she suffers from involuntary, and intrusive, flashbacks of the abuse. 

The third victim, who suffered from depression from the age of 12, said that Morrish had destroyed every chance of her having a normal childhood. She said she felt dirty as a child and wondered if she had done something to deserve the abuse. She also said she was frightened every day and suffers from PTSD.

The last victim said she was very poorly as a child and that Morrish still chose to abuse her. "It affected what I perceive normality to be," she said. To this day, she still has difficulty to have relationships with men and struggles to trust others. She also suffers from a high level of inter-personal distress, depression and anxiety.

The Crown Advocate said that as a result of the sexual exploitation, three of the victims have been assessed to have suffered severe psychological harm, with the last one having suffered extreme psychological harm.  

Pictured: Morrish's conduct was described as "deeply abhorrent" by the Crown Advocate.

The Court heard that Morrish suffered from sexual abuse in his childhood although he admitted it did not excuse his behaviour. While he initially denied all of the allegations saying it was "a load of old cobblers" and "the whole bloody thing has been cooked up," Morrish pleaded guilty when he was formally charged in April 2018. He denied another eight allegations which the prosecution allowed to remain on file. 

Morrish said he was not proud of his actions, adding that he didn't know what was going through his mind. "I was 33 years old at the time, I have never felt this way since," he said. However, the Crown Advocate said that his comments had to be balanced with the fact that Morrish had abused four victims over a number of years. 

He described Morrish's conduct as "deeply abhorrent" adding that the offences were extremely serious and that only a lengthy prison sentence was appropriate. The Crown Advocate therefore moved for a 13 year prison sentence and asked for a restraining order in respect of all victims for an undetermined period - one of the first to be given in the island.

Advocate James Bell, defending, said that Morrish was sincerely regretful for the pain and suffering he had caused, which he had expressed in a letter of remorse. 

He added that Morrish was not a young man and urged the Court to bear in mind his age when sentencing him. He added that Morrish had significant back problems which would require surgery soon and asked the court for a "degree of mercy or leniency." "Each year of sentence represents a large portion of the life that is left," he told the Court.

Returning the sentence, the Deputy Bailiff Tim Le Cocq, who was sitting with Jurats Collette Crill, Elizabeth Dulake, Geoffrey Grime, Robert Christensen and Robert Kerley said that the Crown had been correct in its conclusions. He therefore sentenced Morrish to 13 years in prison and ordered for his name to appear on the Sex Offenders' Register for 15 years. He also signed a restraining order for an indefinite time, which the Police said was probably the first to have ever been issued.

Pictured: The Police said Morrish had been predatory in his offending.

In a statement released after the sentencing, the Police said: "He (Morrish) subjected the young girls to serious sexual abuse over the space of many years. The victims... were deprived of their innocence at an early age...Morrish gave no consideration to the impact this abuse had on his young victims.

"Morrish was predatory in his offending, in identifying and targeting his victims and manipulating those close to him. This was a serious and complex case and has shown the tangled web of deceit that Morrish cast."

Detective Inspector Craig Jackson added: “The victims have shown immense courage and resilience in reporting the abuse that they suffered. Since the initial disclosure they have demonstrated great strength and commitment throughout the investigation.

“We hope that the sentence handed down today will help them to rebuild their lives and give them some small comfort. Sexual abuse of young people will not be tolerated and we will investigate such crimes robustly and where evidence exists, put offenders before court, even if it is reported some years later.”