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Deputy head teacher and partner who filmed themselves raping a young girl are jailed

Julie Morris, 44, and boyfriend David Morris, 52, filmed themselves raping a young girl. (Merseyside Police)
Julie Morris, 44, and boyfriend David Morris, 52, filmed themselves raping a young girl. (Merseyside Police)

A deputy head teacher and her partner who filmed themselves raping a young girl have been jailed.

Julie Morris, 44, the safeguarding lead at a school in Wigan, and boyfriend David Morris, 52, were jailed on Wednesday after admitting dozens of child sexual abuse offences.

The couple filmed themselves abusing and raping a girl under the age of 13 in a series of videos.

Liverpool Crown Court heard the abuse mostly took place between 2018 and 2021 at David Morris' home in Eccleston, St Helens.

Julie Morris, of Hindley, Wigan, was jailed for 13 years, while David Morris was jailed for 16 years.

Both must serve two thirds of the sentence in prison.

General view of Liverpool crown court.
The couple were jailed at Liverpool crown court. (PA)

At Wednesday’s hearing, Julie Morris pleaded guilty to two counts of rape, nine of inciting child under the age of 13 to engage in sexual activity and two of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child.

She also admitted three counts of taking indecent images of a child, one of engaging in sexual communication with a child and one of possessing indecent images of a child.

The offences are not related to Julie Morris’s employment at her school, it was heard.

David Morris pleaded guilty to 34 offences at an earlier hearing.

Judge Andrew Menary QC told them: "This is one of those cases sadly which demonstrates that human depravity really knows no depths."

John Wyn Williams, prosecuting, said the couple met on dating app Plenty of Fish in 2016 after both had separated from their partners and the relationship “quickly became intensely sexual”.

He told the court: “The communication between them became graphic and depraved which led to some of their sexual fantasies becoming a reality.”

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Mr Wyn Williams said police found a conversation about sexual abuse of children involving David Morris in a phone seized during a search warrant.

He was arrested but cautioned and released and a number of devices were seized, which showed the recordings of rape and sexual abuse, the court heard.

Mr Wyn Williams said both defendants were arrested the following day as they appeared to be trying to evade police.

He added: “They were on their way to the Lake District in a camper van with £10,000 in their possession.”

As well as videos and images on David Morris’s phone, officers trawled through 175,000 pages of messages between the couple, revealing sexually explicit communications.

The couple were also given indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Orders and will sign the sex offenders' register for life.

Detective Chief Inspector Bev Hyland of Merseyside Police said: “These extremely serious offences committed by Julie and David Morris have had a devastating impact on the victims and their families.”