A Carnoustie rapist was given a job at a children’s mental health charity two months after appearing in court accused of rape and the sexual assault of a 16-year-old.
Place2Be, a children’s and young persons mental health charity which works with schools across the country kept Morgan Prior on their books until Monday, the day he was convicted of rape and indecent assault.
Prior, of Wards Avenue, Carnoustie, was charged with six counts of rape and indecent assault, including the alleged indecent assault of a 16-year-old.
He first appeared on petition at Dundee Sheriff Court in February 2021.
He was employed as a mental health practitioner by Place2Be in April 2021 and did not disclose he had already appeared in court in connection with the sexual offence allegations.
He was found not to be guilty of assaulting the teenager but was convicted at the High Court in Dundee of indecently assaulting a woman and raping another.
The other three charges were found not proven, also by majority.
A judge told him “it is not remotely possible a non-custodial sentence will follow” his convictions when he returns to court to learn his fate next month.
‘Internal investigation’
Place2Be confirmed Prior was “summarily dismissed” on June 5.
It is understood the organisation only became aware of his conviction after being contacted by The Courier.
A spokesman said an “internal investigation” would be conducted in light of the conviction.
The company works in schools nationwide, and has been involved with pupils in the Dundee, Angus, Perth and Kinross and Fife council areas.
It is understood Prior had worked in the Angus Council area before his remand this week.
Princess Catherine is a royal patron of the organisation, which has operated for more than 30 years in its capacity as a children’s and young person’s mental health charity.
A spokesperson for Place2Be said: “Safeguarding remains our top priority and we take this matter very seriously.
“We are in contact with our school partners to ensure our continued support for the school community.
“We can confirm that Morgan Prior was dismissed on June 5 2023, which was the same day we were made aware of the charges and conviction.
“We can also confirm that no safeguarding concerns were identified or raised internally or by external sources when carrying out security checks prior to his appointment in April 2021.
“In line with all organisations, our employees are required to give truthful answers to the questions put to them at interview and application stage, and to inform their employer if they are charged with any offence.
“This individual did not disclose this information.
“We are continuing to look into the matter to identify any learnings for the future.
“We have notified the Charity Commission and the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) of this incident.”
Prior would have been subject to a Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) Check, overseen by Scottish Government agency Disclosure Scotland, due to his work in schools.
A check should contain any criminal conviction information, as well as “any other non-conviction information that the police or other government bodies think is relevant”, according to the organisation.
A Disclosure Scotland spokesperson said only: “Disclosure Scotland cannot comment on individual cases.”
‘Happiest I’ve ever been’
Prior, a self-professed “men’s rights activist”, appeared in a BBC documentary which focused on him being in multiple simultaneous consensual relationships.
Following a week-long trial, a jury of nine men and six woman found him guilty of raping one of his partners and indecently assaulting another at an address on Blackness Street, Dundee.
On the morning of his conviction, Prior linked to the BBC documentary about his part in polyamorous relationships and commented he had “no regrets” and was the “happiest he had ever been”.
- This article has been amended to change the description of the alleged victim of the not proven sexual assault from “child” to “16-year-old”.
While our original article was in line with the Scottish Court and Tribunal Service’s interpretation of charge one of the indictment faced by Prior, The Courier is happy to offer this clarification. The allegation was found not proven after trial. Prior is serving a 40-month jail sentence after being convicted of separate counts of rape and sexual assault, and is on the Sex Offenders Register for an indefinite period.
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