The trial of a Jones County man facing multiple child molestation charges last week ended in guilty verdicts in three of the five counts.
Kirby Vincent Moore was arrested February 25 and indicted by a Grand Jury April 8. His trial started Oct. 28 and included more than a dozen witnesses.
The verdict read in Superior Court Friday, Oct. 31, following jury deliberations, was guilty on two counts of aggravated child molestation and one count of child molestation.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Cara Fiore, and Moore was represented by public defender Tom O’Donnell. Superior Court Judge Terry Massey presided over the case.
Sentencing will take place in Jones County Superior Court Nov. 6.
Fiore said the minimum sentence for the crime of aggravated child molestation is 25 years in prison followed by life on probation. The maximum sentence is life in prison.
Moore was denied bond at a March 6 hearing by Chief Superior Court Judge Alison Burleson on grounds he was a risk to the community and to commit new crimes. He was 55 at the time of his arrest.
According to information presented at the hearing, Moore’s arrest was the result of a complaint received by the Jones County Sheriff’s Office Feb. 17 for incidents that reportedly began in January of 2016.
The defendant had no criminal history but was indicted in Crawford County in 2020 for another child molestation case. That case was dismissed due to case flaws and lack of credibility.
Fiore stated that the molestation was disclosed to a family member, and the victim was taken to the Crescent House and interviewed. The complainant was not a family member but had a close long-term relationship with the family.
The prosecutor said the victim told a friend that the molestation had been going on for years.
Investigative reports with information about interviews of family members and friends of the complainant describe a history of molestation of several young children over the span of years.
It appeared the only incident involving Moore previously reported to law enforcement was in Crawford County.
After the report of the molestation to the Jones County Sheriff’s Office, two interviews were conducted at the Crescent house in Macon, which were followed by warrants for Moore’s arrest.
