Former Officer Maurice Morris Convicted of Attempted Sexual Battery

A former Riviera Beach K-9 officer was convicted today of attempted sexual battery, bribery and official misconduct and now faces an absolute maximum of 35 years in prison when sentenced in January.

Jurors convicted Maurice Morris following a trial last week featuring dueling stories: A prosecutor alleging he had sex with a female driver following a traffic stop, then disposed of two traffic tickets he had written her.

The defense argued that in an attempt to help her, Morris simply visited the woman's home to check her claim that she had a letter proving she didn't know her license was suspended. And that now she is inventing a story that he raped her.

Charged with sexual battery, punishable by up to 30 years in prison, jurors appeared to compromise with a lesser charge, finding him guilty of attempted sexual battery.

Morris' defense attorney, Nicole Sauvola, who could not immediately be reached following the verdict, has said she firmly believes in her client.

"He is not just not guilty. He is innocent. No good deed goes unpunished."

Assistant State Attorney Daliah Weiss argued at trial that Morris' brazen arrogance led him to have sex with the woman, an unsophisticated, vulnerable lady already in trouble with the law.

The woman was driving with a suspended license and on felony probation when she was stopped by Morris that morning in October 2008.

"She was ripe for the picking," said Weiss.

Weiss emphasized the missing traffic tickets — shown in the police dashboard video as last being handed to Morris — and his DNA being found in the woman's underwear.

It was not semen found there, though, but rather skin cells or another source that a DNA expert concluded Morris could not be excluded as a contributor to.

"Missing tickets. Rape. There you have it," Weiss argued before jurors. "And his DNA in her underwear."

According to Morris's story, and he did testify at trial, after he let the woman drive off after the traffic stop that morning, he happened to run into her again, her frantically waving him down as he drove home.

The GPS system in the patrol car he was driving showed he was at her home one hour and 23 minutes.

Too long to just read a letter, argued Weiss before jurors.

Too long for how the victim testified the sex act happened, said defense attorney Sauvola outside court. "She made it sound like two seconds," Sauvola said.

Weiss argued it is unbelievable that Morris would just happen to run into the woman once again, and let her drive off a second time with a suspended license, never calling for any kind of back-up or assistance.

Sauvola, Morris' attorney, emphasized irregularities in the DNA evidence in the case. For one thing, the woman turned in a different pair of underwear to police — a silver G-string, not the black undies, the wide band of which was visible in the video, she wore during the traffic stop.

On the first forensic testing of the silver G-string, no DNA was detected. But six months later in re-testing, some was then found, Sauvola said.

The woman was unable to identify Morris in either a photo lineup or in court — evidence, argued Weiss, that she had no motive to just make up a story of rape to get back at him. "And what was she angry about? Not getting a ticket?" Weiss said.

Under Florida law, it is considered a sexual battery without consent when a law enforcement or corrections officers "in a position of control or authority" or convincing the victim of their control, have sexual relations with someone.

Morris took an early retirement from the Riviera Police Department following his arrest. His alleged victim was recently jailed on unrelated attempted murder charge.

Officer Maurice Morris Accused of Dropping Tickets for Sex

A Riviera Beach police officer is out of jail on bond this morning.

He is charged with sexual assault in an alleged sex for traffic tickets scandal.

Veteran Riviera Beach Police Officer, Maurice Morris, is named in a sealed indictment, charged with sexual assault and official misconduct.

Last month, Morris allegedly worked a security detail at a Barack Obama campaign rally in Lake Worth. He was in uniform, driving a marked squad car, and allegedly pulled over a female driver and wrote her several tickets, and then told her he would drop the tickets if she had sex with him.

The two of them allegedly went back to her West Palm Beach apartment for sex, and Morris even put his K-9 dog in her bathroom, because he did not want to leave the animal out in his squad car.

His attorney says Maurice Morris has never been arrested in his life, and has more than dozen commendations in his file for good police work.

Morris made a brief court appearance this morning. His lawyer told the judge Morris turned himself in last night. The judge set his bond at $25,000 dollars, and also ordered that he not have any contact with the victim and not have any weapons.


Morris is now on administrative leave.

Officer Maurice Morris Accused of Sexual Assaulting Woman He Pulled Over

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.

A Riviera Beach police officer appeared before a judge Monday, accused of sexually assaulting a woman whom he pulled over for running a red light.

Maurice Morris is accused of pulling over a driver in West Palm Beach and offering to rip up her tickets if she agreed to have sex with him.

"He ended up going upstairs to her apartment," West Palm Beach police Lt. Chuck Reed said. "While up there, he sexually battered her, sexually assaulted her and then left, and we have witnesses that watched him go in and out of this apartment."

The alleged incident took place in October while Morris was off duty but still in uniform and driving his patrol car.

Police said he used his badge to intimidate the woman.

Morris is a 20-year veteran of the Riviera Beach Police Department, including 13 years with the K-9 unit. His bond was set at $25,000.

His attorney said the indictment against Morris lacks facts.

"I mean, if you can't trust your police, we have a serious problem," Reed said.

This is the second recent blemish involving officers from Riviera Beach police's K-9 unit.

In September, four officers were reassigned after they were accused of visiting pornographic Web sites while on the job.

City leaders hope the allegations won't tarnish the department.

"Every now and then there's going to be allegations all over the place, but the good news is that these officers are putting their lives on the line every single day to protect our citizens," Riviera Beach Mayor Thomas Masters said.

Mayoral candidate Leonard Lovett said he feels Riviera Beach gets a bad rap because "there have been incidents that have happened in the West Palm Beach area, just short of the border, and the first thing they holler (is) Riviera Beach."

Morris' attorney told the judge that the indictment against her client lacked facts. She added that Morris has never been arrested before and has only received one traffic ticket.

Former Officer Maurice Morris Sentenced to Seven Years in Prison

A former Riviera Beach police officer who attempted to rape a woman after writing her a traffic ticket was sentenced to more than seven years in prison, according to the State Attorney's Office Friday.

Maurice Morris was convicted of attempted sexual battery by a law enforcement officer, bribery by a public servant and official misconduct.

Morris made a traffic stop October 2008 on a woman in Riviera Beach and wrote her up two traffic citations before following her home to West Palm Beach, the State Attorney's Office said.

The GPS on his police car showed that he was at her home for almost an hour and a half. The victim said that Morris tried to rape her on her couch.

Morris never turned in the victim's tickets and a jury last month convicted Morris.

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Former Officer Maurice Morris Accused of Sexual Misconduct

Former Riviera Beach K 9 cop Maurice Morris is accused of sexual misconduct and bribery.

The former officer was arrested last year by West Palm Beach Police.

Morris, according to investigators, was working off duty at a rally for then presidential candidate Barack Obama at Palm Beach Community College.

Investigators say that Morris had given a woman a number of tickets.

The former officer then offered to take away the tickets in exchange for sex.

Morris has denied the allegations made against him.

Jury selection is now underway in Palm Beach County Circuit Court.