Moore was indicted on three federal charges of attempted production of child pornography, attempted receipt of child pornography and using a computer to persuade, entice or coerce a minor to engage in sexual activity between January and May 2014.
Moore, who worked as a uniformed Secret Service officer based at the White House, has been locked up since he was arrested in November on a related federal charge in Delaware.
Moore “sought to use mobile technology to sexually exploit multiple minor, teenage girls from one of the most secure places on the planet. He did so while in the presence of other highly trained law enforcement officers and just yards from the President of the United States, his family, and senior administration officials he was then protecting. … The brazen and self-absorbed nature of his conduct is simply breathtaking,” federal prosecutors wrote.
Moore was recently moved to the Palm Beach County Jail after the Federal Public Defender’s Office, which represents him, announced that he wanted to face the most serious allegations against him first in Florida.
“The charges brought against Mr. Moore in the Southern District of Florida are much more serious than the charge pending against Mr. Moore in the District of Delaware. Mr. Moore would like to resolve his case in the Southern District of Florida prior to resolving the case pending against him in the District of Delaware,” his lawyers wrote.
Moore, who now has a beard, was dressed in dark blue jail scrubs and was handcuffed and shackled during his brief court appearance Tuesday. He spoke only briefly with U.S. Magistrate Judge Dave Brannon and is expected to remain locked up while both federal cases are pending. No trial dates have been scheduled yet.
Investigators said Moore, who is married with children and lived in Maryland before his arrest, was communicating with at least two undercover officers and at least two minors, according to court records in the Delaware case. When he was questioned, investigators said Moore estimated he was talking to about 10 individuals he believed were underage girls.
Federal prosecutors in Delaware said Moore, whose duties included guarding the White House, frequently engaged in online sex chats while he was supposed to be working.
Investigators said that, in one chat, Moore asked an undercover officer he thought was a 14-year-old girl to send him something “exciting” because “work sucks today.” He was checking IDs for people entering the White House complex that day, according to court records.
In another online conversation, he sent a photograph of his penis to one of the undercover officers who was posing as a teenage girl, according to court records. In another, he sent a non-explicit video of himself in uniform from the White House, authorities said.
Moore also destroyed digital evidence of his misconduct after he found out he was under investigation and was about to be arrested, according to federal prosecutors and agents from Homeland Security Investigations.
He learned of the investigation when officials from the Secret Service went to his home and told him he was being suspended, in violation of how prosecutors and investigators had asked the Secret Service to handle the matter, according to court documents.
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