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November 29, 2004
Boston Globe
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- A Framingham man charged with raping a 13-year-old girl was on the loose after fleeing court on Monday shortly before a jury found him guilty.
Marlon Morris, 26, was free on bail for the November 2002 crime, so he was not in custody when he walked out of Cambridge Superior Court at about 1:40 p.m., a spokeswoman for the Middlesex district attorney's office said.
About 20 minutes later, he was found guilty of two counts of forcible rape of a child, two counts of statutory rape and three counts of indecent assault and battery on a child.
Authorities are concerned that Morris may flee because he has ties to Jamaica and upstate New York. He is now considered a fugitive from justice and could face additional charges, said Melissa Sherman, a spokeswoman for the district attorney.
Morris's disappearance left his lawyer baffled.
"This took me by surprise," attorney Philip Tracy Jr. said. "He was in court every day with his family, and we were confident that we were getting a fair amount of time for the jury to consider our side of the case."
The jury deliberated 13 hours over three days after a two-day trial.[/b]"I have no answers," Tracy said. "In 30 years as a lawyer, in more than 200 jury trials, nothing like this has ever happened to me."
Tracy urged Morris, who has no prior criminal record, to turn himself in.
Morris raped and sexually assaulted the victim, now 15, on Nov. 17, 2002, prosecutors said. The girl reported the incident to her mother the next day, and Morris was arrested a day later. Morris and the victim knew each other.
Morris pleaded innocent at his arraignment and was released on $5,000 bail. He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Boston Globe
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- A Framingham man charged with raping a 13-year-old girl was on the loose after fleeing court on Monday shortly before a jury found him guilty.
Marlon Morris, 26, was free on bail for the November 2002 crime, so he was not in custody when he walked out of Cambridge Superior Court at about 1:40 p.m., a spokeswoman for the Middlesex district attorney's office said.
About 20 minutes later, he was found guilty of two counts of forcible rape of a child, two counts of statutory rape and three counts of indecent assault and battery on a child.
Authorities are concerned that Morris may flee because he has ties to Jamaica and upstate New York. He is now considered a fugitive from justice and could face additional charges, said Melissa Sherman, a spokeswoman for the district attorney.
Morris's disappearance left his lawyer baffled.
"This took me by surprise," attorney Philip Tracy Jr. said. "He was in court every day with his family, and we were confident that we were getting a fair amount of time for the jury to consider our side of the case."
The jury deliberated 13 hours over three days after a two-day trial.[/b]"I have no answers," Tracy said. "In 30 years as a lawyer, in more than 200 jury trials, nothing like this has ever happened to me."
Tracy urged Morris, who has no prior criminal record, to turn himself in.
Morris raped and sexually assaulted the victim, now 15, on Nov. 17, 2002, prosecutors said. The girl reported the incident to her mother the next day, and Morris was arrested a day later. Morris and the victim knew each other.
Morris pleaded innocent at his arraignment and was released on $5,000 bail. He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.
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