A
shopkeeper, who 'groomed' a 14 year-old customer for sex and gave her
a glass of orange juice, after which she passed out, has been jailed
for trying to rape the youngster.
Gerard
Morgan, 46, of Sandhurst Road, Catford sold baseball caps at a local
store and after befriending the “vulnerable” teen gave her gifts,
including an iPad Mini.
He
was convicted at Woolwich Crown Court of attempted rape; grooming a
child and sexual assault and received a total of five years
imprisonment.
Morgan
befriended the girl in the autumn of 2012 after she came into the
shop to look at some of the caps.
Following
further encounters at the shop, Morgan then began to offer her lifts
in his car.
It
was during these lifts that Morgan began to sexually abuse his
victim.
In
January last year Morgan took the victim to an address in Blackheath
where he offered her a drink of orange juice.
After
taking the drink, the victim passed out and only awoke hours later
with her clothes dishevelled.
She
told someone about the incident and police were alerted.
Morgan
was arrested on February 25 and denied the allegations.
However,
analysis of his phones showed that he had made contact with the
victim on hundreds of occasions in the short time they had known each
other.
Detective
Constable Ken Tran of the Sexual Offences, Exploitation and Child
Abuse Command (SOECA) led the investigation.
He
said: "Gerard Morgan is a dangerous offender who exploited a
very vulnerable child for his own sexual needs.
“The
victim has shown courage in reporting Morgan, who has now been
convicted and will go to prison for a long time, safeguarding other
children.
On
release he will be monitored as a registered sex offender."
Detective
Chief Inspector Pete Thomas, also of SOECA, said: "Gerard Morgan
is every parent's nightmare, a sex offender who targets children and
tries to beguile them with presents and compliments.
"I
believe there will be other victims and I urge them to tell us about
what has happened.
“I
would also encourage anyone who has been a victim of sexual
exploitation or grooming, or someone who may have information about
offenders targeting children, to call us, so we can protect other
children."
Anyone
with information about Gerard Morgan is asked to contact SOECA via
101 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
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