Fed Appellate Court Rules Long Beach Rapist Must be Re-Sentenced

By City News Service

A federal appeals panel ruled Wednesday that a man sentenced to 254 years behind bars for sexually assaulting four women in Belmont Shore should be re-sentenced because he was 16 when he committed the crimes.

A three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Roosevelt Brian Moore's 1991 sentence was unconstitutional based on a U.S. Supreme Court decision blocking life terms for most juvenile offenders. The 2010 decision applied retroactively and to defendants sentenced to fixed-year terms, the appellate panel found.

Moore was 16 years old when he was convicted of nine counts of rape, seven counts of forcible oral copulation and other charges. The jury also found he used a firearm during the crimes.

In its decision, the appeals court determined that Moore's sentence must comply with the Supreme Court's ruling that most juvenile offenders be given "some meaningful opportunity" to rejoin society.

Moore's case will be returned to the Los Angeles district court, where he will be re-sentenced to a term that allows for the chance of release.