TULSA, Okla. – A former South Coffeyville middle school teacher was sentenced today for two counts of Sexual Abuse of a Minor in Indian Country and Coercion and Enticement of a Minor in Indian Country, announced U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson in a release today.
U.S. District Judge Sara E. Hill sentenced Harold Steven Moore, 41, of Kansas City, to 180 months imprisonment, followed by 12 years of supervised release. Upon his release, Moore will also be required to register as a sex offender.
“Children trust their teachers and Harold Moore betrayed that trust,” said U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson. “No child should ever have to question the motives of an adult they interact with at school. I commend the courageous victims that came forward.”
According to court documents, Moore was a teacher and coach at a South Coffeyville middle school. He had sexual relationships with two separate minor children beginning in 2006 and continuing through 2007. Both minor children were under the age of 16 years old and students at the middle school. Moore further admitted to enticing a third minor to engage in sexual activities while he was her coach. Moore made inappropriate comments of a sexual nature and engaged in improper touching.
Moore is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation and he will remain in custody pending transfer to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons.
The FBI, Cherokee Nation Marshal Service, and Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office in Kansas investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Dunn prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section leads PSC, which marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children and identifies and rescues victims. For more information about PSC, please visit DOJ’s PSC page. For more information about internet safety education, please visit the resources tab on that page.
