By Koda Slingluff
SACRAMENTO– In July, a “13-year-old girl” posted an ad asking for a ride, and John Glenn Morgan offered her this ride—but only if the child would give him oral sex in return.
Little did Morgan know the underage “girl” was actually an officer with the Sacramento Police Department.
This week, Sacramento County Superior Court Judge Patrick Marlette explained to Morgan that he would be registered as a sex offender after Morgan pleaded no contest to lewd and lascivious acts with a minor child, a felony.
The incident was a second strike on Morgan’s felony record, and Judge Marlette explained that “if you ever get another felony conviction you will not be eligible for probation and your prison term 
will be twice what it already would be.”
The punishment for what Marlette called “attempting a lewd recipience act with a child” is either 18, 36, or 48 months in custody, with a fine of up to $10,000. Additionally, there is a restitution fine between $300 and $10,000, and a victim restitution fine determined by the court.
The victim restitution fine did not apply to Morgan, since no child was in reality propositioned. Assistant Public Defender Courtney Zane calculated Morgan’s existing time as 101 days remaining. Zane suggested adding 18 months, or approximately 540 additional days.
Deputy District Attorney Bruce Chang detailed the scenario, stating that “the defendant did unlawfully willfully and lewdly attempt to commit a lewd and lascivious act to… a person the defendant believed to be under the age of 14… to gratify the sexual desires of said defendant.”
Chang continued, “The defendant saw an ad posted by the Sacramento Police Department in which Sac Police detectives posed as 13-year-old females looking for a ride.”
He then “made [an] arrangement to meet with her and expressed interest in oral sex and having her orally copulate him after they met up and while he was giving her a ride,” according to Chang.
The defense counsel motioned to dismiss two other counts against Morgan. Judge Marlette delayed these motions until Morgan’s next sentencing hearing in April 2021.
Morgan will have to register as a sex offender for life, but will be eligible to apply for the registration requirement to be terminated after 20 years.
Koda is a junior at UC Berkeley, majoring in Philosophy and minoring in Rhetoric. He is from Ventura, CA.
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