Rapist subjected children to years of abuse

Builder’s labourer Morrison, formerly of Harriet Street, Kirkcaldy, had denied a string of charges during a trial at the High Court in Edinburgh.

But a jury today found him guilty of 10 offences of assault, indecency and rape committed between 1989 and 2016 at addresses, a disused building and woods.

Defence solicitor advocate Iain Paterson told the court that Morrison was well aware he faced “a significant custodial sentence” if convicted.

Morrison was convicted at the High Court in Edinburgh.

The trial judge, Lord Ericht, told jurors that it had been “a very serious and unpleasant case”.

Morrison subjected the rape victim, now aged 28, to kicks, punches and slaps and began molesting her as a youngster.

A second female victim, now aged 31, said that her first memory of being subjected to sexual abuse by Morrison was when she was eight or nine years old.

He had previously been on bail ahead of the trial with a special condition that he did not have unsupervised contact with children under the age of 16.

But he was arrested in October last year after breaching the bail order by taking a 10-year-old boy a fast food restaurant.

Lord Ericht remanded him in custody and deferred sentence pending a background report. Morrison was placed on the sex offenders’ register.

Morrison is due to appear for sentencing at the High Court in Edinburgh on 22nd February.

Detective Inspector June Peebles of Fife Division’s Public Protection Unit said: “Morrison is a sexual predator who is a danger to children.

“Morrison has refused to admit his guilt and shown no remorse for his crimes.

“I would like to commend the victims who have demonstrated utter bravery and courage throughout the investigation and trial.

“I hope this conviction will go some way in enabling them to move on with their lives. The victim impact of sexual abuse such as this should never be underestimated.

“This case has demonstrated the importance of reporting all cases of sexual abuse, whether current or non-recent. We treat all reports of sexual crimes with the utmost seriousness and have detectives dedicated to investigating such offences

“We will continue to work alongside our partners at the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service in order to bring relevant offenders to justice.”

Anyone with information on sexual crime can contact Police Scotland on 101 or report this anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.