Life in prison for man who molested, threatened runaways

A convicted felon who repeatedly sexually assaulted two runaway boys he took into his Anza home, using threats to keep them under control and plotting to kill them so they couldn’t testify against him, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Randy John Morasch, 55, was convicted last month of two dozen felony charges, including forcible sodomy, kidnapping to commit rape, assault with a firearm, supplying pornography to a minor and solicitation to commit murder.

Morasch sought to fire his attorney, Marty Miller, during a closed hearing prior to his sentencing at the Southwest Justice Center, but Riverside County Superior Court Judge Elaine Kiefer denied the request. She imposed the sentence required by law.

According to Deputy District Attorney Marcus Garrett, the offenses occurred between 2006 and 2014 and involved a 16-year-old runaway boy identified in court documents only as “P.N.” and a 17-year-old boy identified as “A.B.”

In the case of P.N., Morasch invited the homeless youth to stay with him at his house, located in the hills around Anza, a dozen miles east of Temecula. Morasch worked to win the boy’s confidence, allowing him to freely shoot guns, consume alcohol and ride ATVs, Garrett said.

After the boy settled into the ex-con’s home, Morasch showed him a homemade pornographic movie featuring his then-teenage stepson, Dennis Harrison, having sexual intercourse with a teenage girl, Garrett said.

While viewing the video, Morasch raped P.N. and forced him to perform oral sex, the prosecutor said.

The victim was sexually abused on multiple occasions in the ensuing months, according to the prosecution. The boy made several attempts to get away from Morasch, who told him that he was “affiliated with the Hell’s Angels and could have P.N. killed,” Garrett wrote in a trial brief.

On one occasion, the teen ran out of the house, and Morasch fired a gun to stop the victim, who was not injured, according to the prosecutor. Ultimately, the boy was able to procure help and flee the residence permanently.

In 2013, Morasch was introduced to A.B. through a mutual friend and offered to take the runaway into his house and let him stay rent-free, according to the prosecution. The youth was further permitted to use “vehicles, guns and drugs” to put him at ease — and keep him under the defendant’s sway, Garrett wrote.

After a few days, Morasch asked the victim to join him in his bedroom to watch porn, and when the teen tried to leave, the defendant “grabbed A.B., put handcuffs on his wrists, bent him over the bed and forcibly sodomized him,” according to the prosecutor.

Morasch began using open threats to make the victim comply with his sexual demands and deter him from leaving the property, Garrett said.

“These threats included occasions when the defendant pointed a loaded handgun in the direction of the victim and pulled the trigger,” the prosecutor said, adding that the boy was not struck by gunfire.

A.B. reunited with his family six months later and revealed what had happened to him.

Sheriff’s investigators were alerted, and just as they prepared to serve an arrest warrant at the Anza property in June 2014, Morasch fled to Northern California. He was tracked down by police near Sacramento, where he was taken into custody following a high-speed chase.

After he was jailed, Morasch plotted to have his accusers killed and contacted his now-32-year-old stepson Harrison. According to a press release by the D.A.’s office, Morash instructed Harrison to poison or “watch Breaking Bad” to learn how to get rid of the two victims in his case.

Harrison pleaded guilty last year to witness intimidation and was sentenced to six years in state prison.

According to court records, Morasch’s prior convictions included assault with a deadly weapon, evading arrest, burglary and receiving stolen property.Felon who molested, threatened runaways sentenced