Woman woke up to find London voyeur in bed with her, court told

John Morrison, 26, had stripped off his clothes and got into the woman’s bed in 2021, having earlier been at the pub with her and others in West Oxfordshire.

Prosecuting, David Dainty said the victim awoke to find her under the duvet with his head by her waist, although he denied her account that his head was beneath the covers.

The woman, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, ‘ran out of bed’ and raised the alarm. Morrison was told to leave the house.

Later, he sent the victim a number of messages, including one that suggested he ‘thought we were up for shagging’.

In a moving impact statement read to the court by Mr Dainty, the victim said: “What John Morrison did has plagued my life in every single aspect.

“I want no other woman to have to experience what I have experienced at the hands of John Morrison.

“He ruined the person I was before. I truly believe I will never be the same again.”

She questioned whether the defendant had shown any genuine remorse. Following the incident, her phone had been ‘bombarded’ with messages claiming variously that Morrison ‘couldn’t remember’ or that he was ‘so sorry’ and ‘sickened’ by his behaviour.

“He was only sorry that he’d been caught,” the woman wrote.

The victim, who said she had suffered from panic attacks and anxiety, described a social media post sent when Morrison was on holiday in Portugal shortly after the incident, which was captioned ‘have that’.

She suggested it ‘clearly’ showed the defendant had ‘absolutely no remorse for the pain I was experiencing back at home’.

John Morrison outside Oxford Crown Court (Image: Oxford Mail)

Morrison, of Britton Street, London, was originally charged with more serious allegations of trespass with intent to commit a sexual offence, but pleaded guilty at a hearing in July to a charge of voyeurism.

Defending, Tom Little KC reminded the judge of his client’s basis of plea, in which he denied that his head had been under the woman’s bedcovers.

He sought to reassure the court that the social media post sent during Morrison’s holiday in Portugal ‘did not relate to the complainant’.

Sentencing, Judge Ian Pringle KC noted other aspects of the defendant’s mitigation, including that he had a ‘good job’, was a hard-worker, had a ‘steady job’ and it was over two years since the offence was committed.

Rehearsing the facts of the case, the judge said that Morrison had apologised for what he had done. “Whether that was genuine regret or simply sorry you’d been found out only you will know,” he said.

The judge added: “I’ve had to anxiously consider whether this case passes the custody threshold. Your counsel has persuaded me – just – that it doesn’t.”

He imposed an 18 month community order with 25 rehabilitation activity requirement days, 120 hours of unpaid work and £1,800 in costs.

He was given a 10 year restraining order banning him from contacting the victim.

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