XENIA — The jury started deliberating March 9 on whether or not Anthony Moore, 36, of Xenia is guilty or not guilty of five counts of gross sexual imposition, a third-degree felony as well as eight counts of rape, a first-degree felony.
Moore pled not guilty and is being held at a bond of $150,000 with no 10 percent. The trial is taking place in Judge Michael Buckwalter’s courtroom.
The alleged victim, now 14, testified March 6 that she was sexually assaulted “almost every day” between ages 11-13.
“You have had during this case a front row seat to the remarkable strength of a child,” Assistant Prosecuting Attorney David Hayes said during closing statements. “[The victim] had the strength to endure, for two years, what Anthony Moore was doing to her. [The victim] had the strength to go through the investigation and repeatedly tell strangers what had happened to her and [the victim] had the strength to tell you, 14 strangers, what was happening to her. That child deserves justice.”
Defense attorneys Adrian King and John Leahy argued that there are a number of conflicts among statements given by the victim and that timeline concerning when the alleged crimes took place does not line up. They added that a number of testimonies given during the trial does not stem from first-hand knowledge, but from what the victim told the witnesses.
“Hearing [the victim] talk, she has conflict among her statements, much less among the various actions,” King said during closing statements. “During her testimony, she said she was unsure of many of the contact between her and Mr. Moore. There were some excuses offered for this — that she was scared, unwilling to testify or reveal, embarrassed — but I would suggest that we don’t know what these reasons are why she gave these answers. We have to take these answers on face value. She made these answers for a reason and we don’t know what those reasons are.”
After the victim told a trusted adult of a particular assault that took place in June 2017, the Xenia Police Department started an investigation and she underwent a medical examination to complete a rape kit and has also been involved with social workers from Michael’s House.
Jury selection took place March 5, the alleged victim testified March 6 and the “trusted” adult and victim’s mother as well as two forensic scientists from the Bureau of Criminal Investigations testified March 7. Other individuals testified March 8. Both the state and defense rested March 9, concluding the trial with closing statements and deliberation from the jury.
