WHERE IS HE NOW?

Waco -- Two veteran lawmen ask the question. Shocked and surprised, Chief Rob Williams of the TSTC Police Department said he's nonplussed. Most anyone would find it as unbelievable as a scene from "The Other Guys."

Abel Reyna, a candidate who is opposing John Segrest for the post of McLennan County District Attorney, said he finds it surprising.

Both agree it's highly unusual for judges and jailers to allow a man accused of serial predatory sex offenses against a young female child to walk out of jail scot free on a personal recognizance bond.

The truth is that more than 48 hours have passed since a Grand Jury indicted Benjamin Alan Morrison, 37, of Bruceville, for 8 counts of aggravated sexual assault of young female child and a single count of continuous sexual abuse of the same girl.

Arrested on the charges on February 18, he was released on his agreement to have a $100,000 lien levied against his property if he fails to show up in 54th State District Court when summoned.



But since his indictment on Wednesday of this week, his bond has been re-set at $50,000 on each of the 9 counts with which he has been charged for a total of $450,000.

While bail cannot be set so high it's used as a punitive measure against an accused offender, it has to be high enough to ensure that an appearance is made in court when the offender is summoned to answer the charges with which he has been accused, said Mr. Reyna. Both he and Chief Williams remarked that the offense with which Mr. Morrison has been accused is predatory in its nature and both noted that predatory behavior almost always escalates.

Each of the 9 offenses are serious enough that if he is convicted, he could be sentenced to a life term in the penitentiary. He was also arrested in 2009 for a similar sexual assault on yet another female child and in 2004 by the Waco Police for an offense of injury to a child. He was charged with neither of those offenses. Bond on the 2004 charge was set at $15,000 at the time. Both Chief Williams and Mr. Reyna agreed that electronic bracelets with GPS tracking could be put to work tracking offenders charged with violent or predatory crimes while out on bond.

The Chief noted that when apprehended, served with the February arrest warrant, and charged, Mr. Morrison was coming out of the VA Medical Center Clinic building at 4800 E. Memorial in Waco. Apparently, he is a patient there and had been at a regularly scheduled out patient appointment, then picked up his medication at the pharmacy.



In yesterday's edition of The Legendary, we made the mistake of saying that Judge David W. Pareya set the initial bond of $500,000.00 on the continuous sexual abuse charge when, in fact, it was Jail Magistrate Raymond Britton who approved the arrangement and set the initial bond amount.

August 4, 2010

Man Indicted on Multiple Counts of Sexual Activity with a Child

http://www.kwtx.com/home/headlines/100027244.html?storySection=story

Saturday February 20, 2010

POLICE NEWS: Waco man arrested in sex abuse of girl, 11

http://www.wacotrib.com/news/crime/POLICE-NEWS-Waco-man-arrested-in-sex-abuse-of-girl-11.html

Thursday August 5, 2010

Former TSTC student indicted for continuous sexual abuse of a child

http://www.wacotrib.com/news/crime/100001029.html

Aug 05, 2010 8:05 AM CDT

Man indicted for continuous sexual abuse of a child at TSTC

http://www.kxxv.com/Global/story.asp?S=12930379