A 38-year-old man who sent sexually explicit messages to three 14-year-old girls was caught when one of his victims told her dad – a police officer.
Grant Morris – who exchanged a total of 59,000 messages with one girl – pretended to be a teenager from Edinburgh when he contacted the young girls on social media.
He has now pleaded guilty to sending sexually explicit messages to the schoolfriends during a 15-month period.
Between May 1 2018 and March 19 2019 at his home address – in Voeside, Bressay on Shetland – and elsewhere he sent the messages via social media to the first victim.
And between January 1 and December 31 2018 he sent sexually explicit messages to a second 14-year-old and did the same between January 1 2018 and March 7 2019 to a third victim.
In all three cases he falsely told the girls that he was a 19-year-old Edinburgh resident called Grant.
Messages started ‘innocent in nature’
Procurator fiscal Duncan Mackenzie told Lerwick Sheriff Court that Morris had seen the first complainer broadcasting on a live streaming app and began contacting her directly via Snapchat, text and audio calls.
The content was initially “innocent in nature” but from May 2018 onwards started to become sexual and then “extremely graphic and explicit”, with a total of 59,000 messages exchanged on an “almost daily basis”.
When they made video calls he would always position himself so that his face was not visible, the fiscal added.
Morris then began communicating with two of her friends, both of whom made him aware of their age.
He began flirting with the second complainer, who considered Morris and the first complainer to be boyfriend and girlfriend, which then escalated into messages of a “more overt, sexually explicit nature” that made her feel uncomfortable.
His messages to the third complainer were again initially non-sexual before becoming sexual over time, with Morris repeatedly asking her for phone sex and intimate photos.
Offences discovered when victims spoke out
After the second and third complainers spoke to one another about the messages, they informed the first complainer that they believed Morris was cheating on her.
She then told him that she did not want anything to do with him and told her dad, a serving police officer.
A statement was taken in March 2019 but it was not until March 2020 that the matter was transferred to police in Shetland.
After a further delay due to the Covid-19 pandemic he was arrested in September 2020 and made a “full and comprehensive admission”.
Mr Mackenzie said there was never any suggestion from Morris of attempting to meet up with any of the girls in person and there were occasions during the exchanges when he made excuses to avoid doing so.
Sheriff Ian Cruickshank deferred sentence for a criminal justice social work report and restriction of liberty assessment to be prepared.
Morris will be subject to notification requirements related to sexual offences and bail was continued until 8 December – when his defence agent will offer a statement in mitigation.
