A busker whose sentence was reduced after raping a 13-year-old “vulnerable” girl he claimed to be his daughter.
In 2019, Glenn Ian Morrison, 55, enticed the young woman to his Sydney flat where he then gave her wine and raped her.
He was later determined to have violated three minors between the ages of 10 and 16 and committed two counts of aggravated sexual assault.
Morrison received a 13-year prison term with an eight-year, eight-month non-parole period.
His sentence has since been reduced to 10-and-a-half years with a seven-year non-parole period. The date of his parole eligibility is August 21, 2026.
On August 19, 2019, Morrison encountered the girl, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, while she waited outside Manly Ferry Terminal for a friend.
The busker engaged the young woman in conversation and offered her a cigarette before driving her on public transportation back to his home in Rosebery, in the eastern part of the city.
Morrison claimed that the kid was his daughter when he was questioned by a member of the public about how he knew her.
Later, CCTV footage revealed Morrison and the girl strolling through Rosebery.
The girl was attacked by Morrison after he brought her to his flat, according to the court, by biting her neck and close to her breast and sticking his tongue in her mouth.
The girl testified that she was “half-asleep” when she was sexually attacked twice, and that she responded, “No, no, no.”
Morrison was eventually sentenced to prison, but on Wednesday he told the Court of Criminal Appeals that he thought the punishment was “manifestly excessive.”
He filed an appeal to have the aggregate sentence lowered and the two aggravated sexual assault charges dismissed.
His appeal was based on what appeared to be a mistake wherein the “extremely essential” documents given to the jury contained an extra word.
The NSW Criminal Court of Appeals, however, determined that the error was “immaterial” and could not have affected the guilty verdicts.
The presiding justices agreed that his initial sentence of 13 years in prison was harsh despite the appeal being denied.
The reduction was brought about by the fact that the offences were connected and took place quickly, it was said.
The ruling stated, “The applicant was to be sentenced for five offences perpetrated against the same complainant in the same location during the same early morning hours of a single day.”
The justices found that Morrison’s actions were “opportunistic” and “involved exploitation,” but they did not find any evidence of violence or predatory behaviour.
The woman testified in court in February 2021 that the sexual attacks had destroyed her life and will affect her for the rest of her days.