LOGAN — A 32-year-old Richmond man is headed to prison for driving to a Logan park in August to meetup for sex with an undercover officer who was posing as teenage girl online. Timothy Kenneth Moore has been in the Cache County Jail since showing up at a Logan park and finding police waiting to arrest him.
Moore was sentenced Nov. 18 in Logan’s 1st District Court. He previously accepted a plea deal, pleading guilty to attempted sodomy on a child, a first-degree felony; and two counts of enticing a minor, a second-degree felony. He also pleaded guilty in a second case to aggravated assault, a third-degree felony.
Prosecutors report, Moore began messaging a Logan City Police officer in July. The officer was posing as a 13-year-old girl online.
Originally, Moore said he was interested in socializing, and offered to pick up the supposed girl to drive around and smoke. He later began making sexual inferences, describing various acts he wanted to engage in, and requesting naked photos from the undercover officer.
On several occasions, Moore made plans to meet in person but never showed up at the locations. He later sent messages, apologizing, and offering to make it up to the supposed girl.
Moore sent another message to the undercover officer Aug. 26, saying he was free to hang out. He offered to purchase a pizza and meet the undercover officer around noon at a park in Logan, police reported.
Officers later observed Moore at a local restaurant, buying a pizza, and driving to the designated location, where he was taken into custody without incident. Inside the vehicle, police located the phone used to message the undercover officer, the arrest affidavit detailed.
During questioning at the police department, Moore reportedly told officers he was just going to eat pizza at the park and had no other intentions. As the interrogation continued, he reportedly became physically and verbally combative, and had to be restrained by police.
During Monday’s sentencing hearing, defense attorney Cameron Cox said Moore suffers from sever depression. He blamed his client’s actions on an addiction to drugs.
Cache County Deputy Attorney Ronnie Keller called Moore a “deviant danger to the community.” He explained how the Richmond man had tried to strangle a woman, claiming she was cheating on him, while at the same time, arranging to meetup with the undercover officer, posing as the young girl.
Moore told the court how he realized that he had messed up. He asked for a second chance since he was addicted to drugs.
Judge Spencer Walsh said what Moore did was offensive. He sentenced him to serve six-years-to-life in prison and have no contact with the victim.