Moore Gets Eight Years and Six Months for Aggravated Sexual Battery of Child

A Smithville man, convicted in April of the aggravated sexual battery of a child, appeared for sentencing Friday in DeKalb County Criminal Court.
Judge Leon Burns, Jr. sentenced 44 year old Kenneth Lee Moore to eight years and six months in the state penitentiary.
A motion for a new trial will be heard on July 22nd in DeKalb County Criminal Court.
The range of punishment for the crime is eight to twelve years.
Moore stood trial last month on a charge of rape of a child but after deliberating for more than four hours, the jury of eight women and four men hearing the case returned a verdict of the lesser included offense of aggravated sexual battery.
“This will require an eight year and six month service in the penitentiary at 85% before release eligibility. It is really considered a 100% sentence but he can qualify for up to a 15% sentence reduction,” said Deputy District Attorney General Greg Strong in an interview with WJLE. Moore will be on community supervision for life as a sex offender.
According to Sheriff Patrick Ray, Moore allegedly raped his twelve year old niece on November 15th, 2010. The child, who was living with Moore at the time, awoke from sleep to find Moore allegedly making sexual contact with her.
“The basic facts of the case were that Moore accomplished oral sex with his twelve year old niece who was living with him at the time due to a hardship that her mother had, “said Strong. “She (victim’s mother) had lost her job and she had to move in with the defendant (Moore). He took advantage of this young girl,” said Strong.
Moore’s attorney, Jason Hicks of Cookeville, in an interview with WJLE after the verdict said this was a case of “he said”, “she said” without any corroborating evidence.