Co Galway ballet teacher jailed for child sexual abuse in Mayo - Long Read

A ballet teacher from Tuam in County Galway has been sentenced to seven years imprisonment at Castlebar Circuit Criminal Court following his conviction for the sexual abuse of two young girls during dance classes in County Mayo. Leighton Morrison, aged 49, pleaded guilty to six sample charges arising from a total of thirteen offences committed between January 2023 and June 2024. The offences included sexual assault against children aged eight and nine, child exploitation, and possession and production of child sexual abuse material. Morrison perpetrated the assaults within a costume storage room at his dance schools. Gardaí recovered multiple electronic devices containing hundreds of images and videos of child sexual abuse material. Judge Eoin Garavan imposed a sentence of eight years with the final year suspended, emphasising the gravity of Morrison's actions and his manufacture of abuse material for his own gratification. The judge stated that Morrison posed a grave danger to children and would never be afforded unsupervised access to them, reflecting serious concerns about his risk of reoffending. The victims' mothers provided impact statements to the court detailing the profound trauma and enduring psychological harm experienced by their daughters as a result of the abuse. Both children have suffered significant long-term effects. Morrison has been remanded in custody since July 2024. As part of his sentence conditions, he is required to complete a sex offenders' programme and undergo probation supervision for one year following his eventual release from detention. The case represents a significant safeguarding failure within the dance education sector in the region and underscores the vulnerability of young people in positions of trust within extracurricular settings.