British paedophile jailed 18 years for raping young girls in Kenya

A British paedophile who raped and sexually abused poor children in Kenya after exploit­ing his friendship with their families has been jailed for more than 18 years.

Keith Morris, 72, deliberately chose the two weakest girls in the remote African village while he was on holiday between 2016 and 2017. He raped one ‘on more than 20 occasions’, Leeds Crown Court heard.

Known to his victims at ‘Mozzy’, Morris befriended their families over the course of 20 years, giving them money and gifts on a number of occasions. He even used his granddaughter to get close to the girls, encour­aging her to play with them.

 

Morris, from Hull, also finan­cially sponsored several of the families and paid for their chil­dren’s education. He ‘integrat­ed’ himself within the village in the Kilifi county of Kenya and earned the respect of the elders through his help building houses, funding education and facilitating travel to a local clinic for medical attention, Leeds Crown Court heard.

 

Judge Mairs said: “You were a benefactor to the residents, especially the children. There is no doubt that you used your elevated and financially power­ful position to gain access to the girls.”

The abuse took place during a period between January 2016 and February 2017. Morris denied 12 charges including rape and sexual assault. But he was convicted of four counts of rape, four counts of assault by penetration, two counts of sexual assault and two counts of perverting the course of justice by the jury on May 22.

 

The retired locksmith from East Yorkshire, travelled to Kenya on holiday on multiple occasions with his wife and later his granddaughter. He took groups of children out of the vil­lage for day trips, buying them sweets, make-up, meals out and often inviting them to stay in his hotel rooms.

Prosecutor Rupert Doswell said it was during these trips Morris abused the children – who were aged just 13 and 14 when they gave their state­ments to police – between 2016 and 2017. Morris referred to the victim he raped more than 20 time as ‘sweetheart’ or ‘darling’, the court was told.

An investigation was launched after a British hotel guest raised concerns about Morris’ behaviour towards one of the young girls to one of his friends – who was a member of the police. An ‘international investigation’ was launched and Morris was stopped in February 2017 as he returned to the UK at Humberside airport.

 

During a search of his home, officers found a dictaphone containing audio recordings of phone conversations in which he had asked his victims ‘to sign re­traction statements stating the sexual abuse had not occurred’.

He also transferred money to associates in Kenya in exchange for help to prove his innocence, the court heard, which led to him being charged with pervert­ing the course of justice.

Doswell told the court: ‘While he had always transferred money [to Kenya], payments increased exponentially [after his arrest]’.

In mitigation, Caroline Wigan told the court Morris had already suffered intimidation in prison and custody would be very difficult for his age.

Wigan told the court he had no previous convictions and does not accept the jury’s decision.

Sentencing Morris, Mairs said he had used his ‘veneer of respectability’ to abuse the girls for his ‘own sexual pleasure’. ‘The sex offences occurred in Kenya. You stayed at a number of tourist hotels [near the vil­lage]. The evidence in the trial showed the abject poverty of its residents. Life is brutal, hard and often short. ‘You befriended the village. For many years you did good work. There is no doubt you used your elevated position to gain access to the young girls. You groomed them.’