Henri De Sola Morris, 66, was in federal court Friday morning, pleading guilty to five charges of transporting women across state lines for sex. In exchange for that guilty plea, prosecutors did agree to seek a jail sentence of just one year and one day. Of course, the judge will have the ultimate decision of whether to accept that recommendation or not.
Three victims were in court on Friday. One spoke to Eyewitness News, saying she just had to speak out in order to warn other women.
Morris ran around the courthouse, trying to dodge our cameras, after he admitted to drugging, then raping five women. Morris is the CEO of the west Houston-based Edible Software, and the women were his employees.
"You think that it happens at a bar with some creepy worker in the corner but it doesn't," said one victim. "It happens at work."
This former employee went on mandatory business trips with Morris.
She said, "He drugged my drinks at the concierge lounge, and then he proceeded to take pictures of me and sexually assault me."
All five women say it started with a drink in a hotel lobby. They can't remember much of the rest. Federal agents say they later found several drugs in Morris' suitcase.
"I'm not a big drinker," the victim said. "I took it because I felt like he was my boss and it was what I needed to do at that time. I had only been working at the company at a week."
When asked today to explain his actions, Morris said, "I traveled with women to foreign locations in order to sell software. During that time we had drinks."
But when the judge asked, "Did you put drugs in their drinks?" The CEO refused to answer.
"We really did want him to say what he did and admit to it," the victim said. "He's not a strong enough person to do that."
Morris' sentencing has been scheduled for February 7, 2014.
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