Daily Mail
October 16, 2009
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1220641/Fake-scientist-convicted-string-sex-attacks-young-girls.html
UNITED KINGDOM — A bogus forensic scientist who conned his way into hundreds of trials has been convicted of a catalogue of serious sexual offences, it can be reported today.
Gene Morrison, 51, targeted vulnerable young girls to satisfy his perverted fantasies. Two of his rape victims were girls aged ten and 11.
 |
| Sex predator: Gene Morrison, 51, targeted vulnerable young girls to satisfy his perverted fantasies, including the rapes of two girls |
The devout churchgoer four victims came forward after his five-year jail sentence in February 2007 for posing in courtrooms as an expert investigator.
Morrison tricked judges, barristers, solicitors and police into believing he was qualified in forensics when he left school with no qualifications and downloaded sham degrees from a fictitious U.S. university.
The judge who jailed him in 2007 branded Morrison an 'inveterate and compulsive liar'.
A jury deliberating over the sexual allegations against Morrison, better known as Rocky in his home town of Hyde, Greater Manchester, was not told of his past as a fake expert witness.
But they saw through his lies during a four-week trial at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court.
The defendant pleaded not guilty to 33 charges - covering a 30-year-period - which the jury deliberated over.
He maintained that when he accepted sexual relations took place with an adult it was consensual and that in other cases the girls were not telling the truth.
Morrison was convicted of three counts of child rape, six counts of indecent assault, four counts of engaging in sexual activity with a child and one count of perverting the course of justice. All the victims were aged under 16 at the time.
Morrison also faced sexual allegations involving six other women but was either cleared of the offences or the jury could not reach verdicts.
The Crown Prosecution Service today decided not to press for a retrial on any of the allegations which the jury could not decide upon, and reporting restrictions were lifted.
Prosecutor Neil Flewitt QC told the jury the defendant was a 'sexual predator with a particular interest in young girls'.
Morrison was a superficially charming and charismatic man who infiltrated the lives of children for the specific purpose of satisfying his own warped sexual desires, he continued.
'It is a recurring theme of the defendant's relationships with many of his victims that he would befriend them and gain the trust of families before inviting them to his home so that he could sexually abuse them without fear of detection,' Mr Flewitt said.
He groomed the girls by treating them with money or presents but would use violence or threat of harm if they resisted his advances.
Several of them came into contact with him at a church which the deeply religious Morrison, of Martin Street, attended.
The jury was told of claims the defendant would slap one schoolgirl over her buttocks with a belt if she made any mistake when forced to read out lengthy passages from the bible.
He has two previous convictions for assaulting women - one he punched and the other was slapped across the face.
In cross-examination, Morrison conceded he had 'struck out' against women but did not class it as violence.
Mr Flewitt accused him of being 'hypocritical' as far as his religious beliefs were concerned.
Morrison agreed his religion was the 'guiding light in his life' and that he tried to 'copy the example of Jesus Christ', although he admitted 'drifting away from the path sometimes'.
Once-married Morrison also conceded he had firm views that Christian men engaging in sex outside marriage was wrong.
Morrison explained: 'We all have weaknesses. It is a matter of how you progress from that.' Mr Flewitt replied: 'You move on from one young girl to another, that is what you do.
'Your sex drive was the driving force in your life as well as your Christianity.'
Sentencing will take place on December 11.
In 2007, Morrison was convicted of perjury, perverting the course of justice and obtaining money by deception.
He set up the bogus Criminal & Forensic Investigations Bureau and worked from an office near his home in Hyde.
He placed adverts in the Solicitors Journal and began hiring genuine forensic scientists to carry out handwriting and fingerprint analysis which he would claim as his own. He then charged clients twice the true price.
Later he cut and pasted old reports together and changed details claiming the analysis was new.
Morrison was hired by legal firms, insurance companies, private businesses and individuals to carry out original work and examine other expert reports.
Solicitors' firms hired him to work on the defence of their clients - paid for by the taxpayer.
The defendant gave evidence in cases involving armed robbery, rape, death by dangerous driving, unexplained deaths and drug offences.
Greater Manchester Police referred a number of the cases to the Attorney General's office to assess if any miscarriages of justice had taken place as a result of his so-called expert evidence.
Morrison had completed his jail term in August but was on remand in custody throughout the present trial. He now faces another lengthy spell behind bars.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.