Baltimore man faces up to life in prison on four sexual crimes against a child

LANCASTER − A Baltimore man is facing up to life in prison after a Fairfield County Common Pleas Court jury found him guilty of four charges involving sexual offenses against a child.

The jury found Garrick Morris, 53, guilty of two counts of rape of a minor under 13 and two counts of gross sexual imposition. He was taken into custody while awaiting sentencing by Judge Richard Berens.

Prosecutor Kyle Witt said the two rape charges carry sentences of 10 years to life in prison each. The sexual imposition charges carry prison terms of up to five years each. The court has not yet sent a sentencing date, but Witt said it should occur sometime this month.

Witt said the victim was 12 when the offenses occurred and that Morris had a relationship with the girl's family. The victim is now 15 and Witt said the offenses occurred during a period of time. He said the victim had an injury indicative of sexual assault. Witt also said Morris was only person involved in the crimes.

Witt said the jury found her testimony "incredible and compelling" over what happened to her.

"Any victim in a case like this shows a lot of bravery coming forward," he said. "But this young lady was really pretty incredible with the amount of courage she showed in coming forward. She had a lot of factors working against her. A lot of family dynamics in play that tried to, basically, discourage her from coming forth."

Besides Witt's office, he said the case involved the county child protective agency, the Harcum House Child Advocacy Center and the sheriff's office.

"This case has been pending for a while," he said. "So this was just a rewarding outcome for everybody involved. It was the result of a lot hard work by a lot of people. So we're real pleased."

jbarron@gannett.com

740-681-4340

Twitter/X: @JeffDBarron

This article originally appeared on Lancaster Eagle-Gazette: Jury finds Baltimore man guilty of four sex crimes against a child