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THE THUG FORCED A MAN TO STRIP HALF NAKED IN THE STREET WHILE ACCUSING HIM OF BEING A 'NONCE' 19:00, 02 Jun 2025 A thug forced a man to strip half naked in the street while

accusing him of being a "nonce". James Morris "tried to take the law into his own hands" but ended up in prison himself. The dad sought to "humiliate and shame"

his victim, who had apparently been ensnared in a paedophile hunter sting, during a "vigilante" attack. He thereafter seized upon the opportunity to steal an

"irreplaceable" necklace from the complainant, an item which had been given to him by his late nan. Liverpool Crown Court heard today, Monday, that Karl Brown had been sitting with

a group of buskers outside the Scarisbrick Hotel on Lord Street in Southport on the evening of March 2 last year when Morris approached him and began "towering over him" before

"calling him a nonce". The 42-year-old, of Manchester Road in the seaside town, then ordered his victim to strip, with CCTV footage showing him forcibly taking the victim's

coat, t-shirt, shoes and mobile phone and removing an item of jewellery from around his neck. Gerald Baxter, prosecuting, described how the incident persisted for around five minutes in

total. Morris was then said to have binned the items of clothing before another man, who has not been charged with any offences, punched and kicked Mr Brown. In a statement which was read to

the court on his behalf, Mr Brown said: "Since the incident took place, my quality of life has decreased significantly to the point where I've contemplated taking my own life.

I've got family who care for me. Without them, I would struggle even more. "I feel the need to ring my mum, stepdad or grandmother 40 times a day. I'm not the person I want to

be. I find it difficult to trust anyone. In the last 12 months, I've been taken to hospital 42 times with panic attacks due to flashbacks I keep having from this incident."

Article continues below A statement from his mum Kim Brown meanwhile detailed how her son suffers from "complex needs" and now resides in a care home. She added that the silver

chain taken from him had been an "irreplaceable" 18th birthday present from his deceased grandma, which he is "still upset" about losing. Mrs Brown said that her son had

spent three days in hospital after the robbery due to the cold condition, having been left "nearly naked" in the street. She continued: "He's constantly living in fear.

Karl won't go out alone as he's in fear of being attacked again. He thinks they're waiting for him." Carmel Wilde, defending former removals man Morris, told the court:

"He has candidly admitted that he should not have acted in that way while drunk and under the influence of drugs. He foolishly tried to take the law into his own hands and impose some

sort of judgement on Mr Brown, given what he had learned about Mr Brown being caught by a paedophile hunter group. "This defendant wrongly sought to humiliate him and shame him. He said

he wanted Mr Brown to feel how the victims of sexual abuse feel. He did not physically assault Mr Brown like others did. It must have been an embarrassing experience for the complainant. He

recognises now, when sober, that is did not justify public humiliation by some sort of vigilante action. "He was leading a relatively normal life until he broke two vertebrae in a

workplace accident and began using heroin for pain relief. It led to the breakdown of his long term relationship and the loss of his wife, family and job. He is now free from drugs and

intends to abstain from drug and alcohol use upon release." Morris was found guilty of robbery following a trial, although a jury cleared him of being in possession of a knife during

the assault. Appearing in the dock wearing a grey prison issue jumper and sporting short dark hair, he was jailed for three years and handed a 10-year restraining order. Sentencing, Judge

Anil Murray said: "You have a significant number of previous convictions going back over 20 years, but there are significant gaps. He was in the doorway minding his own business. You

had heard that he had been the subject of a sting operation and had been arrested. You took it upon yourself to rob and humiliate your victim, and you achieved your aims. "He is a

vulnerable person. The complainant said in his evidence that you were horrible and nasty, and, clearly, you were. He feels unsafe. He has been taken to hospital 42 times due to panic attack

due to flashbacks relating to this incident. "It is clear that this offence has caused very serious psychological harm. There were not any punches or kicks, but this was prolonged. You

used your physical size to intimidate him and took his clothes from him physically. Article continues below "I am told that you were under the influence of drugs, and that clouded your

judgement. Of course, that is no consolation to the complainant. I am told that you had an accident in work in the past which led to drug use and the break up of your family. You say that

you intend to stay drug free. I hope you do, otherwise the sentences are going to get longer and longer."