A former youth softball umpire arrested this summer for arranging to have sex with an underage girl has pleaded guilty, authorities said.
James Hughes Morriss, 50, of Dacula, pleaded guilty Tuesday to one count of using facilities in interstate and foreign commerce to transmit information about a minor, according to federal prosecutors.
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The former ump was arrested in late July after traveling to Athens to have sex with someone he thought was a 14-year-old girl, the Department of Justice said in a news release.
Morriss had actually been communicating with an undercover officer. The sting was part of a three-day operation by the FBI, GBI and Athens police to catch adult predators looking to have sex with children they met online, authorities said.
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Prosecutors said Morriss used the social networking app Skout to send messages to the undercover officer, who posed as a girl named “Lizzie.”
“Within the first few exchanges, Defendant Morriss, who was 49 at the time, asked ‘Lizzie’ her age and was told she was only 14-years-old,” prosecutors said. “Morriss initiated a sexually explicit discussion and suggested an in-person meeting with the child.”
After requesting and receiving photos of the girl he believed was 14, Morriss traveled to Athens to meet her for sex, authorities said. He was taken into custody at their designated meeting place shortly after midnight.
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Morriss remains in federal custody ahead of his Feb. 12 sentencing. He faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
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