Sex worker was held prisoner and told she was going to die, court is told

Prosecutors claimed Thomas Morgan, 47, informed her that she could only leave if she agreed to shoot him.

The woman only escaped from the house in the greater Belfast area when her suspected captor fell asleep during an ordeal lasting up to three days, a judge was told.

Morgan, of Walnut Green in Larne, Co Antrim, faces charges of possessing a firearm, false imprisonment, common assault, paying for sexual services, possessing cocaine, threats to kill, theft, and having offensive weapons with intent.

The alleged offences were committed over a period between December 14-16 last year.

A Crown lawyer said the woman used WhatsApp to arrange a five-hour meeting for a £1,000 fee.

She claimed that when she arrived at the property her customer showed some cash and promised to make payment soon. Later, amid concerns that no money would be handed over, a request to leave the house was refused.

She wasn’t allowed to phone her children and threatened with having her legs broken, the court heard.

At one stage the customer allegedly stated: “You are going to die in this house with me.”

Counsel submitted that when the woman tried to get up from a sofa she was head-butted back down, and then threatened with a knife, hammer and broken bottle.

She was taken to a utility room where the man produced a firearm and asked if she would shoot him in the head, according to her account.

“He said she could only leave if she shot him,” the prosecutor added. During the alleged period of captivity no proper food or drink were provided.

The woman claimed that she eventually managed to escape out of a window after he took pills and fell asleep, leaving behind her handbag containing hundreds of pounds in cash.

Based on a description she provided and inquiries into the leasing of the property, a number of attempts were made to locate Morgan.

Police arrested him at a Premier Inn on Queen’s Road in Belfast on January 10 this year.

A search of his hotel room uncovered 20 small deal bags containing suspected cocaine, the court heard.

“He accepted during interviews that he was intending to sell the drugs to pay for his hotel stay,” counsel disclosed.

Morgan, who faces a further charge of possessing cocaine with intent to supply over that seizure, denies imprisoning the sex worker or subjecting her to any threats.

Despite allegedly offering her £5,000 to stay the entire weekend, he never intended to make a payment and insisted she was free to leave at any stage.

As Morgan mounted an application for bail, his lawyer acknowledged it was a “bizarre” case.

Barrister Richard McConkey argued that his client should be released from custody due to the level of delay in proceedings reaching any trial.

Adjourning the application, Lord Justice McCloskey requested further medical reports.