Paedophile ballet teacher jailed for 'evil' abuse of two young girls

A dance teacher who sexually assaulted two children and recorded the abuse has been jailed.

Leighton Morrison, aged 49, of Woodfield, Galway Road, Tuam, Co Galway pleaded guilty at Castlebar Circuit Criminal Court to sexually assaulting two children, the sexual exploitation of a child, the production of child sexual abuse material, and possession of child sexual abuse material.

Morrison ran a ballet dancing school which operated in the West of Ireland. The school had around 200 students.

He pleaded guilty to six counts before the court, including the sexual assault of two female victims. The specific details of the location are not being disclosed to protect the anonymity of Morrison's victims.

The sexual assaults took place on March 9th, 2024 and on dates unknown between January 1st, 2023 and June 4th, 2023. The victims were eight and nine years old when the assaults took place.

Morrison admitted to two charges of production of child sexual abuse material relating to an image of the sexual assault of one of the children and a video recording of the sexual assault of his other victim.

He also pleaded guilty to the sexual exploitation of a child, with this offence occurring on March 9, 2024.

On March 12, 2024, child sexual abuse material classed as category one was discovered by gardaí on a mobile phone belonging to Morrison.

The investigating garda told the court that the first complainant was collected from dance lessons by her father on March 9th, 2024. She was not her normal, bubbly self, and on the way home, disclosed that something had happened with her dance teacher.

Later that same day, the girl told her mother that Morrison had made her wear revealing underwear and then told how he had touched her inappropriately. The incident occurred in the changing/costume room where the dance class was being held.

On March 10th, 2024, the girl’s mother contacted gardaí. Later that same day, the woman contacted gardaí again to tell them that another mother with a child in the dance school also wished to speak to officers.

The second mother disclosed that Morrison had sexually assaulted her daughter about a year earlier at the same location.

An investigation team was assembled and an investigation launched.

On March 12th, 2024, detectives obtained a search warrant for the defendant’s home and the premises used for the dance classes. A number of electronic devices were seized, including two mobile phones and a laptop, as well as items of clothing from the costume/changing room.

The first victim was interviewed by Gardaí on March 13, 2024. She told officers she had been attending ballet classes for a number of months.

Some time before she was due to go home on March 9th, 2024, Morrison asked her to try on a costume. She went into the costume room, and the defendant gave her a costume to try on. It consisted of silver shorts, a silver cropped top and jacket and ‘inappropriate’ underwear which looked like a thong from the back while the front part was cut away.

The girl dressed herself while the defendant was out of the room. There were no other children present. The girl thought the underwear was for the outside of her costume, but when Morrison returned, he instructed her to remove her leotard and her underwear. He left the room but returned again when she did what she was asked.

The girl told gardaí she felt very uncomfortable, and the dance teacher told her he “really liked” what she was wearing. While on his knees, the defendant pulled down the girl’s shorts. He asked the girl to sit down. She did not want to, but felt she had no option. He also sat down, and the girl recalled that Morrison sexually assaulted her.

The girl told gardaí she went into a corner and started crying. The young victim told officers she felt she had no choice but to do what Morrison asked, as he was an adult.

On March 9, 2024, the mother of the other victim spoke to her daughter, asking if she had any issues with her dance teacher. Her daughter told her that the defendant took children to the changing room by himself. She told her Mum that he once helped her change her clothes, which she found strange as she could dress herself.

The next morning, they spoke more about what had happened, and the girl told her how Morrison helped her take off her leotard. The girl told her mother that she thought the defendant had “accidentally” touched her intimately.

She returned to the dance studio in a costume that was different to everybody else’s. It featured short shorts and a short jacket. The girl was embarrassed wearing it in front of her friends.

When interviewed by gardaí on March 13, 2024, the girl said that being touched by the defendant made her feel uncomfortable. She told officers that the defendant watched her get undressed after the dance class was over.

Gardaí praised the mothers of both girls for the manner in which they allowed the investigation to proceed.

A forensic examination of all devices found in the defendant’s home was carried out. Evidence supporting the girl’s version of events was found on the phones, including a video recording of the sexual assault of the first complainant.

The self-generated video was recorded by the defendant on March 9, 2024, and was two minutes and 33 seconds in duration.

The camera is facing towards the girl, and while Morrison is not visible, his voice is recognisable. He tells the girl to "lose the leotard and underwear and put the black on and then the silver". The remainder of the horrific video corroborates the child's evidence of sexual abuse.

At one stage, the girl is heard saying, ‘I’m dying’ with the defendant replying, ‘You’re okay.’

The video recorded on the device was forwarded via WhatsApp to another mobile phone number. This number was for another mobile phone owned by the defendant.

The second phone was severely damaged, and gardaí believe this was done deliberately. However, officers were able to repair the device, and it was forensically examined. This examination discovered thumbnail sprites. These are single-image files containing a grid of smaller thumbnail images from a video.

There is clear evidence in the video of sexual abuse. The girl appears to be unaware that the recording is taking place.

Additional examination of the device detected further child sexual abuse material. These included 339 category one images and 853 category two images. Category one images depict sexual activity with a child, while category two are images of child exposure.

Morrison was searching the internet for child sexual abuse material and recording the images. Explicit videos of young children engaging in sexual activity were also found on the phone. An examination of a laptop revealed 25 category two images of child sexual abuse material.

The mothers of the two children delivered heartbreaking victim impact statements in court.

“At a very young age, this little girl has had to defend herself from an evil that most grown-ups will never come to know. At eight years of age, she did not understand that such evil existed,” said one of the mothers. “She is a good, kind thoughtful little child who has had her life ruined at a young age. This little girl has had to grow up very fast. She did not get a chance at a normal childhood. This was taken away from her in the most cruel way,” the statement added.

One of the mothers said their daughter would bite her fingernails sometimes until they bled. Both girls have had problems sleeping and reported nightmares.

“She recently told me she will always be afraid of monsters when she tries to fall asleep,” said one of the devastated parents.

“For me, her Mam, and for her Dad, we are completely broken. This has broken us. It has taken a piece of us that we will never get back. We will never view life the same way again,” stated one of the victim impact statements.

One of the mothers said the abuse her daughter endured “haunts” her.

“I don’t know how this will affect her in the future. It is a life sentence for her.”

She told the court that the dance teacher would be happily chatting and laughing with other parents, knowing he had abused her daughter. She said Morrison had been actively recruiting her daughter for the next term of classes after he had committed these horrific crimes.

“Had we not found out about these crimes against our little girl, she would have continued attending class, continuing to suffer in silence. He was keen to get her back to class.”

One of the mothers said her daughter was afraid to try on a Communion dress in a shop after what had happened to her and experienced feelings of hating herself.

When interviewed by gardaí on four occasions, the defendant made “no comment” replies to all questions on legal advice.

Morrison has been in custody on these matters since July 2024 and has not had any visitors in that time.

The court heard the defendant is a separated father of two with no previous convictions.

Originally from Derby in the United Kingdom, he was a talented ballet dancer who performed all over the world.

The court was told he had a difficult upbringing and was sexually and physically abused as a child. A psychological report revealed a "paedophilic disorder" and recommended that he never have unsupervised access to children.

He is deemed to be at high risk of re-offending.

Senior counsel Desmond Dockery, representing Morrison, said his client has remorse and wishes to apologise to his victims and their families. The defendant had problems with alcohol and became desensitised to pornography.

Judge Eoin Garavan said Morrison’s background was that of “almost a type of Billy Elliot” as a working-class ballet dancer. He said Morrison’s victims have been “totally robbed” of their childhood and innocence with the dance school becoming a “wolf’s lair” for the paedophile.

The judge said the recording of the abuse was a particularly aggravating factor. He said a psychological report identifies Morrison as a paedophile who is sexually attracted to female children.

Judge Garavan said Morrison had “wreaked devastation and turmoil” on his victims and their families. He praised the girls and their parents for having the courage to come forward.

The judge imposed an eight-year prison sentence. He said he would “reluctantly” suspend the final year of that term to allow Morrison to undergo counselling and treatment for sexual offenders.

“No matter how long this man is in prison, he will remain a paedophile,” Judge Garavan reasoned.

The prison sentence was backdated to July 2th, 2024 to reflect time already spent in custody.

If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can call the national 24-hour Rape Crisis Helpline at 1800-77 8888, access text service and webchat options at drcc.ie/services/helpline/ or visit Rape Crisis Help.