http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2011-02-24/news/os-looking-for-sex-battery-victims-20110224_1_sexual-battery-karate-instructor-victims
Sex attack on toddler leads to search for other possible victims of former karate instructor
Dale Vernon Morgan, 56, is accused of sexually assaulting a child for about a dozen years.
February 24, 2011|By Gary Taylor, Orlando Sentinel
Volusia County Sheriff's investigators are concerned that there may be additional victims of a man who was recently extradited from Kentucky to face a charge of sexual battery on a person under 12.
Dale Vernon Morgan, 56, is being held without bail in the Volusia County Branch Jail in Daytona Beach.
The charge against Morgan is a case in which he is accused of sexually assaulting a child for about a dozen years, beginning when she was just a toddler, Sheriff's spokesman Gary Davison said.
Investigators have learned that Morgan operated a karate school in the 1990s, but they have not been able to determine where it was located, Davidson said. They think it was somewhere in Deltona, DeBary or Enterprise, he said.
"This is very much an ongoing investigation," said Sheriff's Investigator Josh Mott. "We know that with these types of offenders, there often are multiple victims. And there's no telling how many children the defendant may have come into contact with in the past."
For that reason, Mott is turning to the public for help.
The Sheriff's Office has been investigating Morgan since October, Davidson said.
That's when allegations first surfaced that Morgan had sexually abused a young girl for more than a decade, starting when the girl was 3, he said. The allegations date back to 1978 and the woman said she just recently came forward, in part, because she feared there could be other victims, Davidson said.
The alleged assaults occurred at various locations around Volusia County, including DeLand, Samsula and Daytona Beach.
Mott obtained a warrant on Nov. 10 charging Morgan with sexual battery on a victim under the age of 12, Davidson said.
By that time, his wife had kicked him out of their home near DeLand and Morgan had left the area and relocated to Kentucky, Davidson said. On Nov. 11, Mott traveled to Kentucky and with the help of local detectives was able to locate and arrest Morgan, he said.
Two days later, a judge allowed Morgan's release on $10,000 bond. So the Sheriff's Office obtained a warrant from the governor to have him extradited to Florida. He was returned to Volusia County on Monday.
Anyone with information can contact Mott at 386-943-7866.
"If there are other victims out there, that information would certainly be helpful to our investigation," Mott said. "More importantly, victims of sexual abuse carry deep emotional scars and often suffer in silence. Reporting abuse of any kind to the proper authorities can be a vital step in the healing process. If there are other victims out there, we'd like to hear from them."
[email protected] or 407-391-9681.
Sex attack on toddler leads to search for other possible victims of former karate instructor
Dale Vernon Morgan, 56, is accused of sexually assaulting a child for about a dozen years.
February 24, 2011|By Gary Taylor, Orlando Sentinel
Volusia County Sheriff's investigators are concerned that there may be additional victims of a man who was recently extradited from Kentucky to face a charge of sexual battery on a person under 12.
Dale Vernon Morgan, 56, is being held without bail in the Volusia County Branch Jail in Daytona Beach.
The charge against Morgan is a case in which he is accused of sexually assaulting a child for about a dozen years, beginning when she was just a toddler, Sheriff's spokesman Gary Davison said.
Investigators have learned that Morgan operated a karate school in the 1990s, but they have not been able to determine where it was located, Davidson said. They think it was somewhere in Deltona, DeBary or Enterprise, he said.
"This is very much an ongoing investigation," said Sheriff's Investigator Josh Mott. "We know that with these types of offenders, there often are multiple victims. And there's no telling how many children the defendant may have come into contact with in the past."
For that reason, Mott is turning to the public for help.
The Sheriff's Office has been investigating Morgan since October, Davidson said.
That's when allegations first surfaced that Morgan had sexually abused a young girl for more than a decade, starting when the girl was 3, he said. The allegations date back to 1978 and the woman said she just recently came forward, in part, because she feared there could be other victims, Davidson said.
The alleged assaults occurred at various locations around Volusia County, including DeLand, Samsula and Daytona Beach.
Mott obtained a warrant on Nov. 10 charging Morgan with sexual battery on a victim under the age of 12, Davidson said.
By that time, his wife had kicked him out of their home near DeLand and Morgan had left the area and relocated to Kentucky, Davidson said. On Nov. 11, Mott traveled to Kentucky and with the help of local detectives was able to locate and arrest Morgan, he said.
Two days later, a judge allowed Morgan's release on $10,000 bond. So the Sheriff's Office obtained a warrant from the governor to have him extradited to Florida. He was returned to Volusia County on Monday.
Anyone with information can contact Mott at 386-943-7866.
"If there are other victims out there, that information would certainly be helpful to our investigation," Mott said. "More importantly, victims of sexual abuse carry deep emotional scars and often suffer in silence. Reporting abuse of any kind to the proper authorities can be a vital step in the healing process. If there are other victims out there, we'd like to hear from them."
[email protected] or 407-391-9681.
http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2012-02-22/news/os-dale-morgan-conviction-child-rape-20120222_1_accused-child-rapist-sexual-battery-sexual-assaults
Accused child rapist faces life sentence after conviction, prosecutors say
5:59 p.m. EST, February 22, 2012|
By Jeff Weiner, Orlando Sentinel
A man accused of raping and molesting a child repeatedly for more than a decade was convicted on multiple sexual battery charges in Volusia County on Tuesday, state prosecutors said.
A resident of Dayton, Ky., Dale Vernon Morgan, 57, faces life in prison on each of three counts of sexual battery of a child. A jury deliberated for three hours before returning the verdict.
The sexual assaults occurred, police said, between 1978 and 1990. The victim in the case came forward in 2010, claiming that Morgan had molested and raped her throughout her childhood.
Morgan, who lived in Volusia County at the time of the crimes, was later arrested in Kentucky. He will remain in the Volusia County Jail until his sentencing, which hasn't been scheduled yet.
Police say the abuse began when the girl was only 3 years old.
[email protected] or 407-420-5717
Accused child rapist faces life sentence after conviction, prosecutors say
5:59 p.m. EST, February 22, 2012|
By Jeff Weiner, Orlando Sentinel
A man accused of raping and molesting a child repeatedly for more than a decade was convicted on multiple sexual battery charges in Volusia County on Tuesday, state prosecutors said.
A resident of Dayton, Ky., Dale Vernon Morgan, 57, faces life in prison on each of three counts of sexual battery of a child. A jury deliberated for three hours before returning the verdict.
The sexual assaults occurred, police said, between 1978 and 1990. The victim in the case came forward in 2010, claiming that Morgan had molested and raped her throughout her childhood.
Morgan, who lived in Volusia County at the time of the crimes, was later arrested in Kentucky. He will remain in the Volusia County Jail until his sentencing, which hasn't been scheduled yet.
Police say the abuse began when the girl was only 3 years old.
[email protected] or 407-420-5717