Alleged Rape by Accused Killer Not Prosecuted

A man suspected of killing a 23-year-old Huntington Beach woman last week handcuffed another woman to a park tree last year and allegedly raped her but was never prosecuted for the crime, authorities said.

Instead, the Orange County district attorney’s office arrested Edward Patrick Morgan Jr., 28, on a parole violation for the March 22, 1993, offense and sent him back to prison without filing criminal charges.

Had the district attorney obtained a rape conviction against Morgan--who had one previous conviction on a charge of forcible rape and two others on charges of statutory rape--he would probably have spent as many as 12 years in prison rather than the 12 months he served for breaking parole.

“We didn’t feel that we could prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt, despite the fact that he had a prior rape conviction,” said Deputy Dist. Atty. Charles Middleton, who made the decision not to prosecute the case.

Some police have privately criticized the decision not to file charges against Morgan. They said the beating death of Leanora Annette Wong last Friday outside an Orange nightclub might have been avoided had the district attorney’s office pursued the Huntington Beach case more vigorously.

Morgan’s first conviction came in December, 1984, when he entered guilty pleas in two unrelated sexual attacks.

In the first case, Morgan was convicted of forcibly raping and intentionally inflicting injury on a 16-year-old La Palma girl. After his arrest for this Oct. 21, 1984, rape, one of his former girlfriends, a 16-year-old from Buena Park, reported to police that Morgan, wearing a ski mask, had broken into her home and sexually assaulted her on Oct. 15, 1983.

In addition to the forcible rape, authorities also charged Morgan with unlawful entry, rape, sexual assault and sex with a minor in the attack on his ex-girlfriend.

As part of a deal with prosecutors, Morgan pleaded guilty to both rapes, but the charge associated with the attack on his ex-girlfriend was reduced to unlawful sex with a minor. He was sentenced to three years for the forcible rape and an additional eight months for the statutory rape.

Morgan met the victim of the forcible rape at a party and dragged her into an alley, threatening her with a knife, according to court records. When she struggled, he began “banging her head and face on the ground to make her submit.” Morgan initially denied raping her and said his only mistake was being physically abusive.

Morgan’s third conviction came in February, 1991, when he admitting having sexual intercourse with a female under the age of 18. In that case, Morgan admitted having sex with a minor on October 24, 1990, behind a Buena Park post office.

He claimed the girl said she was an adult and wanted sex. But the girl told police he raped her after she accepted a ride and drank beer with him. As part of a plea agreement, the rape charge was reduced. Although Morgan faced a possible four years in prison, he was sentenced to one year and four months in custody.

But the Huntington Beach case that was never prosecuted may be the most controversial.

According to police, Morgan was arrested on March 22, 1993, shortly after a 24-year-old woman called police and reported that she had been raped by a man driving a red Pontiac Fiero.

Huntington Beach Police Sgt. Chuck Thomas said the woman was walking along Pacific Coast Highway near Warner Avenue when she accepted a ride from the driver of the Fiero. They bought some beer and drank it in Huntington Beach Central Park, he said.

At some point that evening, the woman was handcuffed to a tree in the park and raped. Thomas said. Police apprehended Morgan, who was driving a red Fiero, that same night.

Initially, the woman lied to police about the incident and told them that she was attacked by two men who pulled her into the car against her will. She said she eluded them by slipping out of the handcuffs and running to a friend’s house, Middleton said. The woman said she did not initially tell police what actually happened because she feared they would think she was at fault for having accepted a ride and drinking beer with Morgan.

Middleton said there were other problems with the woman’s story. He said the woman also admitted that her attacker took off the handcuffs and drove her home. She admitted she then gave the man her home phone number.

Morgan agreed with the woman’s second version of the incident except for the claim that he forced her to have sex. He contended the sex was consensual, Middleton said.

Middleton said he weighed the evidence in the case as well as Morgan’s past as a sexual offender, but remained convinced that there was “insufficient evidence” to prove a rape occurred.

“We’ve got to keep some semblance of order,” Middleton said. “We can’t lose sight of the fact that we have to prove this case. If the courts get filled with cases that would go nowhere it’s total waste of manpower and money.”

Middleton said the district attorney will take another look at the Huntington Beach case as a result of Wong’s slaying.

Middleton, however, said the decision in 1993 not to prosecute was appropriate considering the facts and evidence at the time. He said he is puzzled by the reaction of some police who are critical of the decision. “It’s like they did their job, and we didn’t do ours, but that’s not the case,” Middleton said.