(UPDATE 9/21/20): Following his conviction in 2016, Harold Moore hired a new attorney who argued that Moore should be granted a Motion for New Trial based on the ineffective representation of his original trial attorney, who has since been disbarred. The court agreed that Moore was not properly represented in his first trial and the motion was granted, vacating his 2016 conviction. In his new trial, Moore entered an Alford plea to lesser charges including Sexual Battery. An Alford plea means that although Moore pleaded guilty to the charges, he maintains that he is innocent. Moore’s sentence was cut from 6 years in prison to 2 years in prison with credit for time already served, followed by probation. Under the First Offender’s Act, upon successful completion of his probation, Moore’s record will not show that he was convicted of a felony.
HollywoodLife reached out to District Attorney Danny Porter, who confirmed to HollywoodLife that Moore was granted a new trial based on the inadequacy of his first attorney and that he subsequently pled guilty to lesser charges. Mr. Porter was unable to update HollywoodLife on the current status of Moore’s probation or if Moore completed his sentence, as of 2020.
(ORIGINAL STORY): A Gwinett County, GA jury returned its verdict after more than nine hours of deliberation on July 2, finding him guilty of sneaking into a 15-year-old girl’s bedroom and touching her early in the morning on Nov. 25, 2012. The guilty verdict could result in up to a 20 year conviction for the crime. Harold testified during the trial and maintained his innocence, but was at a loss as to why the girl would falsely accuse him. Dan Mayfield, the chief assistant D.A. said that, “The victim stated the defendant had touched her on previous occasions that made her uncomfortable by tickling her on parts of her body and adjusting her bra strap,
Harold had been out on bail since the 2012 arrest and has kept up an active acting career since then. Not only did he star as Terrance Franks on Single Ladies from 2011-2015, he recently appeared on an episode of Hawaii 5-0. He’s also appeared on CSI and Tyler Perry’s House of Payne. Most recently he’s been portraying Dr. Dre in an upcoming Tupac Shakur biopic.
For now he remains a free man as his sentencing hearing has yet to be scheduled. But Harold’s got to be pretty afraid knowing that the maximum sentence is 20 years in prison for his offense.
HollywoodLifers, do you think Harold will end up getting the full 20 year prison sentence?