Mom of teen who was missing for a month now accused of abusing her, New Jersey cops say

The mom of a teen who was reported missing for a month is now accused of physically abusing and neglecting her, New Jersey police said.

After an extensive search involving the police and FBI, the woman’s 14-year-old daughter was found at a women’s shelter in Brooklyn, New York, on Nov. 12 before meeting police in Harlem, authorities said during a press conference held by the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office on Nov. 13 and recorded by WABC.

She was described by authorities as a “runaway” and being more comfortable away from her home in East Orange, New Jersey.

Her mom, 40-year-old Jamie Moore, was arrested and charged with two counts of second degree endangering the welfare of a child on Nov. 12 and those charges “include allegations of physical abuse and neglect,” the prosecutor’s office said in a news release.

Jamie Moore’s 3-year-old son and 14-year-old daughter were removed from her custody and are in the care of child protective services, according to the prosecutor’s office.

A criminal complaint filed against Jamie Moore obtained by McClatchy News revealed lengthy allegations of physical abuse and neglect against her daughter that reportedly occurred within the last two years.

Moore endangered the welfare of the victim “specifically by stabbing the victim to her shoulder causing a laceration that is still visible, spraying bleach in her eyes, pulling her braids out, striking her in the head with a frying pan, striking her with blue hangers, striking her with a broom handle, striking her with a febreze can,” the complaint said.

Authorities allege Jamie Moore placed her knees on her daughter’s neck and back, causing her to struggle to breathe.

The complaint also accused Jamie Moore of endangering her daughter with “educational neglect” — “specifically by forcing the victim to log out of online instruction and not attend classes while enrolled in virtual learning during the 2020/2021 school year.”

The complaint also said Jamie Moore refused to enroll her child in school during the 2021/2022 school year.

The teen told investigators her mom made her log out of classes so she can make purchases at the store and watch her younger brother, authorities said, and she had asked to be enrolled in the following school year.

During the press conference, Acting Essex County Prosecutor Theodore Stephens II said it does not appear that the 14-year-old was currently enrolled in school.

Initially, Jamie Moore reported her daughter missing to East Orange police on Oct. 14 after she sent the teen out to buy some groceries, the affidavit stated.

The teen returned home with the items but told her mom she lost their Family First food benefits card and was sent back out to find it, authorities said.

Then, Moore’s daughter never came back and was last seen at Poppie’s Deli Store, igniting a major search by law enforcement to locate her that included a monetary reward of up to $15,000 for information leading to her, according to flyers posted by the prosecutor’s office.

When she was missing, Jamie Moore set up a GoFundMe page — that’s now disabled — to help bring her daughter home that had raised almost $8,000.

“On October 14th, every parent’s nightmare became a reality for me,” Jamie Moore wrote on the GoFundMe page.

“My Beautiful 14 year old baby girl ... did not return home after going out to find a card that she lost on her way to the store. As a mother, there are no words that can describe what my family and I are going through.”

However, the girl told police that on the day she went missing, “Jamie Moore had verbally berated her and cursed at her due to not being able to find the Family First Card,” according to the affidavit.

Then, authorities said, Jamie Moore “grabbed the victim from her neck, scratching her neck causing a visible scar and then visibly assaulting her.”

She is accused of telling her daughter to not come home until the missing card was found.

The teen stated “she left and knew she could not go back home because mom would beat her and leave her all bruised up,” according to the affidavit.

Other allegations against Jamie Moore include forcing her daughter to cook for herself and her younger brother or they wouldn’t eat, authorities said, and forcing her daughter to panhandle.

During the preliminary investigation by police, “corroboration was provided to the victim being known in the area for panhandling,” the affidavit stated.

Moore’s daughter told investigators that while panhandling, her mom would demand “she bring a certain amount of money home or she will be beat up.”

Moore is currently being held in the Essex County Correctional Facility, according to a news release from the prosecutor’s office.

She is scheduled to appear in court for a detention hearing on Nov. 17.

Moore is being represented by the Public Defender’s Office and it is unknown whether she has a specific attorney yet, Katherine Carter, a spokesperson for the prosecutor’s office, told McClatchy News.

After the detention hearing, the case will be given to a public defender who will handle the case going forward, Carter said.