Description
A sex pest has been jailed for the terrifying stalking of his neighbour which culminated in him masturbating in front of her whilst wearing a pair of goggles.
Clifford Morgan, 33, frequently stared at his petrified neighbour, sometimes doing so wearing Star Wars or Halloween masks.
Morgan, of Penzance, appeared at Truro Crown Court for sentence having pleaded guilty to stalking.
Prosecuting the case, Tom Bradnock, described how Morgan and the victim in the case had been living next door, on and off, for 10 years.
By 2019 the victim was living with her partner and four children and at that stage hadnt had any problems with Morgan, just finding him a little odd.
The two properties were separated by a chain link fence between their gardens but by May 2019 there began a concerning sequence of events.
Mr Bradnock said: Mr Morgan began to stare at her either openly, through an open back door or on occasions from behind towels hanging on the washing line.
This culminated in an incident when the victim was in her garden at 9:15pm and saw the defendant staring at her. She went inside to get away but returned to the garden to fetch her dog.
Mr Morgan was holding his door open and then stepped forward staring at her and mouthed the words either f*ck me, lick me or rape me. She cant be 100% sure which but was scared and insulted so went inside and read the police.
The victim then went inside and called the police. The matter was investigated but not taken further due to a lack of evidence.
The victim and her partner then erected a six foot fence between the properties so they couldnt see Morgan and things quietened down for several months.
However, in January 2020 the victim on various occasions saw Morgan in his garden either staring or walking around holding tools such as knives, pliers or hammers.
Mr Bradnock added: On January 30 the victim was walking to the shop with her youngest son. This took her past Mr Morgans front window and as she approached his net curtains moved back. He put his face to the window and seemed to be screaming and frothing at the mouth, deranged.
On the following day she and her partner left their house and the defendant was stood on his front doorstep staring.
She dropped her partner to work and returned and got out the car with her two-year-old son.
She noticed Mr Morgan in his doorway, wearing goggles. When he saw she noticed him he exposed his erect penis and masturbated whilst staring straight at her.
That evening the victim again noticed Morgan staring at her through a gap in the fence, this time wearing a Star Wars or Halloween mask.
When police attended Morgans property they found a baseball bat, a hammer, knives, a number of masks, goggles and a balaclava.
A victim impact statement summarised to the court described how the victim felt violated, anxious and that Morgans behaviour made her skin crawl. She has since had to move house.
In mitigation, the court was told that Morgan, who has previous for sexual offending, is a paranoid schizophrenic who poses no threat when medicated. His offending was attributed to his decline in mental health.
Sentencing, Judge Robert Linford said: The victim in this case was terrified in her own home and scared to leave in case she encountered you.
Your behaviour caused her extreme anxiety. She was terrified to the extent that she had to leave.
This was an extremely serious pattern of offending over a period of time.
You suffer from paranoid schizophrenia and when you take medication are able to operate in a reasonable way in the community. The most appropriate way to deal with you is by a hospital order.
Morgan will now be transferred from prison to hospital to be treated.
A 25-year restraining order protecting the victim and her partner was also put in place.