Neil William Morgan

A former magistrate and recipient of an MBE for his charity work, Neil William Morgan, has been unmasked as a paedophile after a police investigation revealed his involvement in downloading child pornography. Morgan, a 58-year-old family man from Ringmer near Lewes, East Sussex, was convicted on seven counts of making indecent photographs of children at Isleworth Crown Court on 7th November 2003.

Morgan spent much of his career working with children and families, including a 27-year role as director of family support work for the Chichester Diocesan Organisation. He had served as a Justice of the Peace (JP) for 13 years, volunteered as a lifeguard at a local swimming pool, helped establish a youth club in his village, and directed the Knowles Tooth Children's Centre in Hurstpierpoint during the 1970s. Despite his exemplary public service, police raided his semi-detached home on North Road, Ringmer, and discovered over 2,000 images stored on his computer's hard drive, of which 370 were confirmed as child pornography.

The investigation uncovered that Morgan had deliberately accessed illicit websites by searching terms such as 'Young Gay Boys' and 'Dutch Boys'. Prosecuting barrister Andrew Lloyd-Ely stated: 'Many of the sites entered had lurid and lewd descriptions. These are sites that have been deliberately entered.' Morgan denied the charges, claiming his daughter's boyfriend was responsible for visiting the child sex sites. He presented character witnesses including Peter Field, Vice-Lieutenant of the County of East Sussex, a former police officer, a deputy headteacher, and a vicar. Morgan also highlighted his MBE for charity work and provided an alibi, asserting he was organising a charity book fair on the night most images were downloaded in November 2001.

However, police surveillance evidence contradicted his alibi. After five hours of deliberation, the jury unanimously convicted him on three counts and by a majority of 10-1 on four additional counts. Visibly emotional, Morgan fought back tears as the verdict was read and later collapsed into his wife's arms in the public gallery. Judge Crocker adjourned sentencing to a later date, granting Morgan conditional bail. He faces a maximum of ten years' imprisonment.

Detective Constable Mandy Richardson of the Metropolitan Police child protection team commented: 'The Met is committed to bringing to justice those individuals who, through their voyeurism, finance the activities of the individuals who produce this despicable material and condone sexual abuse of children.' A spokesperson for the Diocese of Chichester expressed shock, noting: 'Neil worked for 27 years in the diocese as the director of family support work. These years were exemplary and his work was acknowledged nationally. Nothing during his distinguished service gave any grounds for anxiety and we are naturally very sorry.' Morgan had gone off sick during the police investigation and retired the previous year.