George Morris accused of sexually abusing two teens
A legendary US equestrian — who was banned from the sport in
2019 over sexual abuse allegations — has been accused by two men of victimizing
them as teens, new court papers show.
The men claim that George Morris “the most well-known and
admired riding trainer in the country” sodomized them in separate incidents
while they were attending horse competitions and clinics in their youth,
according to a pair of new lawsuits filed against the sport’s governing body
USA Equestrian Trust.
The victims, including Jonathan Soresi — who has previously
gone public with his allegations — also sued Morris personally in 2020. Those
cases are still pending.
Soresi says he was first abused by Morris when he was 16 and
Morris was around 30 around 1972 or 1973, his Manhattan Supreme Court lawsuit
from Thursday alleges.
Morris sexually assaulted Soresi and had anal sex with him
at three separate horse shows in Pennsylvania, Ohio and New York, the court
papers allege.
Morris was “flattered that the world-renowned trainer had
taken an interest [in] him,” the suit says. “It became clear to Mr. Soresi that
Morris would offer his mentorship and celebrity status in exchange for sex.”
After one of these encounters, Morris arranged for Soresi to
ride a prized horse of one of Morris’ wealthier clients, which increased
Soresi’s chances of making it to horse show finals, the court documents claim.
“This also demonstrated to Mr. Soresi, as a child, that
Morris required sex in exchange for furthering Mr. Soresi’s career by providing
access to good horses and mentorship,” the filing alleges.
By 1975, when Soresi was an adult he worked as an assistant
for Morris who “continued to request sex from” him, the court documents claim.
Soresi says he stayed quiet about the abuse until decades
later “due to Morris’ mentorship and his status in the equestrian community,”
the court papers claim.
The alleged abuse caused Soresi to have “a troubled life
that included self-medication, drugs and acting out sexually in an attempt to
cope with his emotional trauma,” the suit claims.
In fact, Soresi is a registered sex offender after pleading
guilty to possession of child pornography in 2007, according to the New York
Times.
Another man, who anonymously also filed suit against USA
Equestrian Trust, says Morris raped him when he was 17 in April 1978 while he
was attending a riding clinic in Sagaponack, New York that Morris had invited
him to.
The victim was staying at a nearby motel and he hadn’t told
Morris his room number. Still, Morris knocked on his door, “forced plaintiff
onto the bed, pressed his body against plaintiff to restrain him, pinned down
his wrists and forcibly raped plaintiff by anal penetration,” the suit charges.
He would continue to train under Morris for the rest of the
riding season “never telling a soul what happened,” the court papers say. “To
say anything to anyone — would end his riding career.”
The alleged abuse has had long-lasting effects on the
victim, who never had a romantic relationship and became a workaholic. And he
was so anxious about reporting the abuse to a sports investigative organization
in 2018 that “his emotional and mental stress caused his body to have the same
symptoms as a heart attack or stroke,” the court papers claim.
Both men’s suits accuse the USA Equestrian Trust of turning
a blind eye to Morris’ “well-known proclivities for sexual relationships with
young boys.”
It wasn’t until 2019 that watchdog group SafeSport banned
Morris from the equestrian industry. That same year, the United States Horse
Jumping Association removed his name “from two of its most prestigious awards,”
the suit says.
The victims are suing USA Equestrian Trust for unspecified
damages.
“Bottom line is that these two brave survivors were able to
seek justice against these institutions that allowed perpetrators like George
Morris to flourish and abuse kids for decades,” their lawyer Michael Reck told
The Post.
USA Equestrian Trust President Alan Balch told The Post its
policy, “is to make no comment about litigation matters.”
Morris’ lawyer did not immediately return a request for
comment.
The men brought their suits under New York’s Child Victims’
Act look-back window which allows victims of childhood abuse to bring old
claims that have since passed outside of the statute of limitations. The window
is set to close on Saturday.
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