Former Port Orchard City Councilman Tye Moore pleaded guilty to child molestation this week and could serve another three years in prison, according to Kitsap County Superior Court records.
Moore, who turns 39 later this month, filed an Alford plea — which does not admit guilt but concedes the prosecution would likely win at trial — on Monday to one count of child molestation in the second-degree.
His sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 8 at 9 a.m., where he faces a standard sentencing range of 31-41 months in prison. After being extradited from Alabama last month, Moore is in Kitsap County Jail custody under a no-bail hold.
Moore was elected to the City Council in November of 2005, and had barely served six months when Kitsap County Prosecutors accused him of forging checks from a home construction business to pay for personal expenses and his political campaign.
He was convicted in October of 2006 of seven counts of forgery and one count each of first-degree and second-degree theft, and sentenced to 25 months in prison.
Just weeks after being released from prison, Moore was arrested for suspected child molestation.
According to the Port Orchard Police Department, officers learned of the suspected abuse after a sibling of the victim — a female then under 14 years of age — reported it to police.
When interviewed by a member of the Kitsap County Prosecutor’s Office’s Special Assault Unit, the victim reportedly confirmed the abuse.
She said on two occasions since Moore was released from Peninsula Work Release, he had touched her in a sexual manner. Four years prior to that, she said he had exposed himself to her.
Moore was then charged with one count of second-degree child molestation and scheduled for trial. However, prosecutors soon lost contact with both the victim and another material witness — Moore’s wife Elizabeth.
The charge was then dismissed in April of 2008 “without prejudice,” meaning it could be re-filed at some point, and Kitsap County Deputy Prosecutor Chris Casad said the charge was re-filed in August of that year.
Some point after that, Moore settled in Shelby County, Alabama, where he was living under an assumed name. However, when he filed under his real name to marry again, POPD Det. E.J. Martin found Moore’s location through a Google search late last year.
In October, Moore was arrested in Alabama. POPD Chief Alan Townsend said the suspect contested his extradition, but was eventually brought back to Kitsap County last month.
The plea agreement signed by Moore stipulates that Kitsap County Prosecutor Cami Lewis will not charge Moore with further crimes related to the case, which include: additional counts of child molestation, an ongoing pattern of sexual abuse, rapid recidivism, indecent exposure and tampering with a witness.
