Convicted sex offender, who falsely claimed to be youth worker, jailed for sexual assault of teenager

This article contains graphic references to sexual exploitation and sexual assault involving a minor, which some readers may find distressing.

Reader discretion is advised.

By Sonya McLean

A convicted sex offender who befriended “a particularly vulnerable teenager” after falsely claiming to be a youth worker has been jailed for four years for sexual exploitation of that teenager.

Paul Morris (58) pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to sexual exploitation of the then 15 year old at Morris’s mobile home in Chianti Park, Tallaght on dates between July 2009 and July 2010.

Morris had originally been charged with ten charges of defilement but a plea to sexual exploitation was accepted by the Director of Public Prosecutions. This charge carries a maximum penalty of life which is a higher penalty than what is available to the court for defilement.

Morris was jailed for eight years in November 2022 after he was convicted by a Central Criminal Court jury on two counts of sexual assault and one count of attempted anal rape at his address in Chianti Park on dates between May 1, 2010 and April 1, 2011.

The court heard during that hearing that Morris spoke to the child’s mother on the phone and told her that he was a youth worker in order to give the mother some reassurance and encourage her to give her child permission to stay the night with him in the mobile home.

On Wednesday, the now 31-year-old victim in the current case read his victim impact statement.

He said he had gone to social services when he was 17 years old to report Morris but “nothing was done about it”. He spoke of how both “my own mother and grandmother didn’t want to believe me”.

The man also referred to a counsellor he met in school at that time, who believed him and was a good support to him. That woman was in court with him during the sentence hearing today/yesterday (Wed).

The man spoke of how he later heard that people who were abused as children often become abusers themselves. He said this terrified him and impacted his own relationship with daughters, describing how he would not change his daughter’s nappy due to this.

The man described Morris as “pure evil” not just due to the abuse but also how he manipulated him and tried to keep him away from his family. He said Morris “alienated” him from his mother.

“I hope you look at the walls in prison and cringe,” the man continued.

He said he is “beyond proud of myself that I am here now”. He said he hopes the sentence will reflect “the monster” Morris is.

Sentencing Morris, Judge Orla Crowe imposed a sentence of five years. She suspended the final 12 months of that sentence on strict conditions including that he engage with the Probation Service for 12 months upon his release from prison.

Judge Crowe said this four year jail term must be served consecutively to the sentence Morris is currently serving. He had been due for release in 2028.

Judge Crowe said the offences represented “a violation of a child’s bodily integrity and of a child’s innocence” before she added that children are protected for very specific reasons.

“He identified a very vulnerable boy and he groomed him and he took advantage of a child who had become a little unstuck and had the misfortune to meet him – he took advantage of him in every way,” Judge Crowe said

“All of this was designed to isolate a particularly vulnerable child and keep him away from his family,” the judge continued before she referred to the fact that Morris gave the boy money and runners.

She described it as “predatory grooming behaviour over an extensive period of time”, which had a profound impact on the victim.

Judge Crowe acknowledged that Morris pleaded guilty, has health problems, has expressed remorse and has indicated a willingness to undergo rehabilitative work.

Detective Garda Sarah Jane Hoey told Aoife McNickle BL prosecuting the then 15 year old victim had a chaotic upbringing at the time and moved around a lot both in Ireland and in the UK. He had been sleeping on friend’s couches and sleeping rough before he was introduced to Morris.

At this point the teenager was using drugs himself and had “gone off the rails”. Morris told him he was a youth worker and the teenager expressed an interest in working as a youth worker himself as an adult. They exchanged numbers and ultimately the teenager ended up moving into the mobile home with Morris.

He later outlined the first incident with Morris. He said it had been cold that night as the heating was broken in the caravan and Morris encouraged him to share a bed with him. He woke up to find Morris performing oral sex on him and Morris made him place his hand on the older man’s penis.

The victim later told gardaí that when he woke the following morning he was confused and did not feel right. He said Morris gave him €50.

The teenager lived with Morris for a year during which time Morris drove him to school, fed him and provided him with hash.

He also told the child that his mother didn’t love him, that she was not fit to have children and that she chose drugs over him. He continued to pretend to be a youth worker and told the teenager about all the people he helped through this work.

The victim later told gardaí that similar incidents happened with Morris and estimated that it occurred 20 or 30 times. He said they would take drugs, Morris would give him a coffee before bed and he would wake to find Morris touching him.

The victim later described feeling trapped at this time. He began to question his sexuality.

He told his mother but she did not believe him. He then met the guidance counsellor in school, and she assisted him in changing his life for the better.

His mother died when he was 17 years old and he took on the role of caring for his younger siblings.

The victim ultimately reported Morris to gardaí in November 2023 and Morris was questioned in September 2024 when he was an inmate in Mountjoy Prison. He acknowledged that he knew the victim and confirmed that he was not a social worker.

Morris has previous convictions from the District Court for road traffic offences, in addition to the previous sexual offences dealt with in the Central Criminal Court.

Det Gda Hoey acknowledged that the penalty for sexual exploitation of a child carries a higher penalty than defilement.

Giollaíosa Ó Lideadha SC defending said he had “explicit instructions” from Morris to express his remorse. He said he went through the victim impact statement with his client to ensure that he understood “what the victim was saying”.

Counsel said Morris accepts that he manipulated and exploited the teenager. He said Morris wants to avail of any courses available to him in prison to ensure that offences such as these do not occur again.