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The victim read a statement in Cayuga County Court prior to the sentencing that morning of William Morrissey III, 34, a former member of the Auburn Police Department who was a school resource officer at Auburn High School. The 16-year-old victim said she was a first-year high school student when she met Morrissey, and condemned him for "his willingness to take advantage of a 14-year-old girl."

"He used my lack of life experience to make me comfortable, to make me feel important and make feel like I was special," she said. "I will never wake up without thinking of what happened."

Now hesitant to form relationships with adults, the victim said she knows the abuse was not her fault. Still, she continued, "There are times that I can't forgive myself for falling for his schemes." 

Morrissey was then sentenced by Judge Thomas Leone to two years in state prison followed by 10 years of post-release supervision for the charge of first-degree sexual abuse (a class D felony) and one to three years in prison for disseminating indecent material to a minor (also a class D felony). For the misdemeanors of endangering the welfare of a child and official misconduct, Morrissey was sentenced to 364 days in the Cayuga County Jail, with that time merging with his other sentences. Morrissey admitted to the crimes in September, a week before he was scheduled to go on trial.

Cayuga County Senior Assistant District Attorney Heather De Stefano also read an impact statement Thursday from the victim's grandmother, who said she won't sleep until Morrisey is "off the street."

"Mr. Morrissey took advantage of his authority to victimize a child. This is one of the most disgusting acts that one can imagine," she said. 

Morrissey's attorney, George Hildebrandt, called his client's actions "a tremendous mistake in judgement" that brought dishonor to his family and the Auburn Police Department. 

Morrissey spoke on his own behalf before the sentencing as well, telling the victim, "I am truly sorry for the pain I caused you and your family."

"I'm ashamed of the actions and poor choices that I made," he said.

Leone expressed condolences to the victim and her family, and said Morrissey was being "held to a higher standard" because he is a former police officer.

The Cayuga County Sheriff's Office arrested Morrissey in March 2022 after an investigation began at the request of the Auburn Police Department. He was accused of grabbing the student's hand and placing it on his penis the month prior, as well as subjecting her to other sexual acts and having sexually explicit video conversations with her. When the allegations were made, the department immediately suspended Morrissey and removed him from school grounds. The department then fired him after an internal investigation concluded he pursued a relationship with the student.

After the victim impact statements were read Thursday, De Stefano praised the victim for her courage.

"She's a very smart young woman," she said, "and we wouldn't be here today without her."

Also in court

• Tayonna Q. Albert, 26, was sentenced to five years of felony probation, starting with 30 days in the Cayuga County Jail, for third-degree grand larceny (a class D felony).

•  Gregory C. Church, 55, of Ogdensburg, pleaded guilty to one count of third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance (a class B felony) and driving while ability impaired by drugs, a misdemeanor, which is set to satisfy another third-degree criminal possession charge. He is scheduled to be sentenced April 25. The New York State Police previously said Church was found unconscious in his vehicle after a crash in Brutus in October. Emergency medical services personnel used Narcan on Church, who became conscious and was subsequently taken to Auburn Community Hospital. Approximately 56.3 grams of cocaine were found in the vehicle, police said, and Church was arrested after he was released from the hospital.

• Courtney F. Donovan, 26, with a previously listed address of Lehigh Acres, Florida, had been facing two counts of second-degree robbery (a class C felony), but one of those robbery charges was reduced to third-degree robbery (a class D felony) due to a previous agreement, satisfying the other second-degree robbery count and a count of endangering the welfare of a child, a misdemeanor. She was sentenced to 3.5 to seven years in prison for the third-degree robbery charge. She was also sentenced to five years in state prison followed by three years of post-release supervision for an unrelated fourth-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance charge, with those sentences running concurrently.

• Christopher M. Liddle, 36, of Fleming, was sentenced to two to four years for second-degree attempted assault (a class E felony).

• Brandon M. Lowe, 37, of Auburn, was sentenced to eight years of state prison followed by nine years of post-release supervision for first-degree attempted rape (a class C felony), eight years of prison and five years of post-release supervision for second-degree burglary (also a class C felony), seven years of prison and nine years of post-release supervision for first-degree sexual abuse, 364 days in the Cayuga County Jail for the misdemeanors of second-degree criminal contempt and second-degree criminal trespass, 15 days in jail for second-degree harassment (a violation) and 1 1/3 to four years in prison for two counts of first-degree criminal contempt (a class E felony). All of those sentences will run concurrently.

• Richard Potter, 21, of Auburn, was sentenced to two to four years in state prison for first-degree identity theft (a class D felony), which violated his probation for possessing an obscene sexual performance by a child (a class E felony).

• Tito E. Rodriguez, 29, pleaded guilty to first-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance (a class A felony). He is set to be sentenced March 21 and could potentially receive up to 20 years in prison.