The Martin Firm - selected case information

LEDGER-ENQUIRER

LOCAL

Thursday, March 23, 2000

Jury acquits man of molestation

Lack of witness and physical evidence, such as DNA, leads to acquittal

By Eileen Zaffiro Staff Writer

In a child molestation case that came down to the word of a 41-year-old man versus that of a 13-year-old girl, jurors decided Wednesday to acquit the man.

Jurors in the Muscogee Superior Court case deliberated for about 90 minutes before finding Melvin Moore not guilty of enticing a child for indecent purposes, child molestation, aggravated child molestation and aggravated sexual battery. If convicted, Moore would have faced a minimum of 26 years in prison and a maximum of 90 years.

Moore, a maintenance worker for the Columbus Housing Authority, has no criminal record. But a second girl and a third girl's mother testified during this week's trial that he molested those preteens as well. Girls who were foster children in Moore's home were also removed after an investigation, a witness testified.

Two of the three girls who accused Moore said he told them not to tell anyone about the encounters and gave each of them $3.

"I feel it was an injustice," Assistant District Attorney Julia Slater said of the verdict.

Moore, who has two teen-age children with his wife, contends all the accusations are fabricated. It's possible the girl made up the accusations because she wanted attention from her mother, whose military duties often took her out of the country, said defense attorney Frank Martin.

There was no physical evidence, such as DNA, or an eyewitness in the case. If Moore was a predator of children, he would have wound up in court years ago, Martin told jurors in his closing remarks.

One of the female jurors cried, repeatedly dabbed her eyes and blew her nose as the verdict was read. As she walked out of the courtroom, she said "my emotions overwhelmed me."

The girl whose accusations led to this week's three-day trial said Moore started abusing her in 1998, when she was 11. The girl had lived with Moore and his family for a short time when she was about 6 or 7, but said he never abused her at that time.

She said it was when she and her mother lived with the Moore family for about a month in 1998 that the molestation began. She claims he groped her and assaulted her one morning as she was getting ready for school.

Two more incidents occurred later, she said. It was the fourth alleged incident, on Nov. 10, that resulted in the trial.

About 10:45 p.m. that night, Moore, his wife, his foster sons and the girl were coming home from a church event. He dropped off everyone at his home and said he would take the girl home and then return.

The girl said he drove as far as a vacant lot on his street, parked and began assaulting her. By the time he put a condom on himself, she was crying and he backed off, she claimed. She said that incident scared her enough to finally tell her mother.