Chris Morriss groomed the child by purchasing gifts for her before assaulting her to satisfy his perverted sexual desires.
The girl described how her entire family had changed as a result of Morriss’ actions, and how he had deprived her of the opportunity to be a normal adolescent.
Morriss, 49, of Denecliff, Liverpool, was convicted of ten rapes on the 13-year-old and sentenced to life in prison earlier this week. Before he can apply for parole, he must serve at least 11 years. He was labelled a dangerous offender by the judge.
After it was discovered that Morriss had violated the terms of the sex offenders register since his release from prison for previous sexual offences, Lancashire Police launched an investigation in 2021. He had attempted to avoid detection by changing his name, but was sentenced to three and a half years in prison for that offence in July of last year.
The rapes of the 13-year-old were discovered during that investigation.
“Morriss is a dangerous and predatory paedophile who groomed this young girl and then repeatedly raped her,” said Sgt Martin Walker of South CID.
“The magnitude of his actions on this adolescent cannot be overstated; he has effectively stolen her childhood.”
With this sentence, this dangerous man will be off the streets for an extended period of time and will be unable to target any other children.
“Chris Morriss is a dangerous sexual predator who has ruined another young girl’s life,” said Brett Gerrity, Senior Crown Prosecutor for the North West Rape and Serious Sexual Offences Unit. He lavished her with gifts before exploiting her for his own sexual gratification, with no regard for the harm he was causing her.
“In her Victim Impact Statement, the girl stated that her entire family has changed as a result of what he did to her because all they do now is worry about her.” She hasn’t had a chance to figure out who she is or who she is supposed to be. She wants him imprisoned so he can’t harm anyone else.
“We worked closely with Lancashire Police to bring him to justice so that he could no longer endanger children.” The fact that he was sentenced to life in prison should reassure the public about how seriously the Criminal Justice System takes such offences.”
