Lafourche man appeals his life sentence and rape conviction
A Larose man is appealing his life sentence and conviction after being found guilty of sexually assaulting a teenage girl.
Johnny Moore Jr., 34, was convicted in February 2020 of first-degree rape.
Lafourche Parish Judge Christopher Boudreaux handed down the state-mandated life sentence without parole, probation or early release on Sept. 21, 2020.
Alleging there was not enough evidence to warrant a conviction, Moore appealed to the 1st Circuit Court of Appeal in Baton Rouge, which is reviewing the case. Moore also criticized the credibility of the victim's testimony.
Larose: Larose man gets life in prison for raping teenage girl
He was originally arrested Nov. 7, 2018, following an investigation by the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office. Detectives opened the investigation after receiving a complaint Moore had inappropriate sexual contact with a 16-year-old girl.
Prosecutors said Moore and the victim lived under the same roof in various parts of Lafourche Parish when the abuse began.
The victim, who has an intellectual disability, told family members the defendant had abused her on multiple occasions. Though Moore initially denied the allegations, he later told detectives that he and the victim had consensual sex, prosecutors said.
Moore’s court-appointed attorney, Andrew Wise, argued that his client admitted to inappropriately touching the victim but never had sexual intercourse with her.
Assistant District Attorney Joe Soignet, who handles appeals for Lafourche, said in court papers that witness testimony provided enough evidence to justify the jury’s unanimous decision.
“It is clear that in returning the verdict of guilty, the jury accepted the testimony of the victim, as well as the corroborating statements of the defendant himself,” Soignet said. “While the victim acknowledged her mental impairments, at no point, even on cross examination, did she ever recant or contradict her allegation that the defendant had raped her.”
The appeals court will make a ruling in about six weeks.
Moore is incarcerated at the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola.
— Staff Writer Dan Copp can be reached at 448-7639 or at dan.copp@houmatoday.com. Follow him on Twitter @DanVCopp.
This article originally appeared on The Courier: Johnny Moore Jr, Lafourche man, appeals rape conviction, life sentence
