A man has been jailed for three years for grooming a 13-year-old girl for sex.
Robert Morrison, 57 (20.05.61) of Limes Avenue, N11 was convicted at Wood Green Crown Court on Thursday, 14 March after pleading guilty to grooming offences. He appeared at the same court on Friday, 12 April where he was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment.
A five-year extended licence period was also imposed by the judge as a finding of dangerousness was reached.
He has also been ordered to sign the sex offenders register for life.
On Wednesday, 13 February at approximately 14.30hrs, police received a call from a member of the public who was present with a male suspected of committing offences.
Police attended the scene and met with the informant. She identified the occupant of an address in New Southgate, Robert Morrison, as a person responsible for communicating with a “decoy” online between December 2018 and February 2019.
Using an online platform called “Kik”, Morrison had allegedly been in contact with an online user who he believed to be 13-years-old. During this time he had incited the child to commit sexual acts on themselves and had also incited the child to meet him at a hotel.
Police attended the address and relayed the allegations to Morrison. References were made to the equipment he had used to communicate with the decoy. He led officers to the rear garden of his property where he had concealed a mobile phone, WiFi dongle and SIM card, admitting they were the items used to communicate. A subsequent search revealed a number of SIM and mobile phone top up cards, as well as two digital cameras.
Morrison was arrested on the same day for these offences and taken to a north London police station.
The grooming messages comprised of over 400 pages of chat between the two decoys and Morrison. This clear pattern of dialogue outlined ages of the suspect and the victims, establishing an enduring relationship with both decoys, subsequently suggesting meeting places and including sexual overtones within the messages.
The defendant had committed a number of breaches of an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) issued in 2018. Morrison was prohibited from possessing the digital cameras and USB sticks as well as communicating with children online.
The court heard that the SHPO was imposed following a conviction on Friday, 1 February 2018 at Wood Green Crown Court for three counts of making an indecent photograph or pseudo-photograph of children on 18 May 2017. He was sentenced to 21-months’ imprisonment, suspended for 18 months.
Morrison was also convicted of attempting to meet a child to commit a sexual offence in the United States in October 2004. He was sentenced to five years imprisonment, and was deported from the USA after completing his sentence.
Detective Inspector Paul Ridley from North Area CID said: “Morrison is a dangerous paedophile who is a clear risk to children which is demonstrated by his history of offending both here and in the United States.
“Despite restrictions being imposed through the Sexual Harm Prevention Order, he blatantly disregarded these to pursue his depraved acts. I truly hope today’s sentence sends out a clear message that predatory behaviour towards children will not be tolerated.”
Anyone with information about individuals involved in offences of this nature can call the Child Sexual Exploitation team via 101. To remain anonymous, call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
For more information on how the stay safe online, visithttps://safe.met.police.uk/internet_safety/get_the_facts.html
