A convicted sex offender was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison with no possibility for parole in Douglas County Circuit Court.
In January, a jury found Richard Ellery Morisett Jr., 36, of Superior guilty of incest and sexual exploitation of a child. He also pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography at Tuesday’s sentencing hearing.
Judge George Glonek told the court there is a serious need to protect the public from Morisett. Despite being on probation, serving a lengthy prison sentence and undergoing treatment, he continues to prey on those more vulnerable than himself.
“He poses a substantial danger to children, especially those known to him,” Glonek said before sentencing Morisett.
According to the criminal complaint:
Morisett had a 14-year-old perform oral sex on him a number of times in 2012 and 2013. The Superior man also videotaped the teen masturbating and performing oral sex on him.
This is Morisett’s third conviction for child sex assault. He was convicted of second-degree sexual assault of a child Nov. 6, 1998. He also was convicted of first-degree sexual assault of a child in 1996, according to court records. In both cases, he performed oral sex on 6-year-old girls known by him, according to information released by the Douglas County Sheriff’s Department.
The Superior man served every day of an eight-year sentence for the 1998 sex assault conviction. In 2006, he was committed to Sand Ridge Secure Treatment Center as a sexually violent person deemed likely to reoffend. He was released from the center in 2010.
District Attorney Dan Blank said cases like this are devastating for the family.
“It causes a community to question what we can do with sex offenders,” he said.
Blank said the case was a good example of teamwork between law enforcement and the District Attorney’s Office.
Glonek’s sentence also sent a clear message that “enough is enough.”
Blank saw the case as a call to action.
“We hope the community realizes that reporting suspected child abuse is our obligation,” said Blank, who also spoke at a Celebrate Children Day event Thursday.
If something doesn’t look or sound right, Blank said, people should follow their gut instincts and call 911 or Douglas County Health and Human Services, 715-395-1304, to make a child protection concern report.
“It’s the only way we can really protect kids from sexual abuse is that when there’s reason to believe something may have happen, someone gets that information out,” Blank said.
