On Friday, 41-year-old Dectavious Thomas Moore pleaded guilty to three counts of rape, the DA’s office said. Moore was sentenced to life plus 20 years immediately after his plea.
Prosecutors said the victims were between 9 and 13 years old. The assaults reportedly took place from July 2017 through May 2018.
Investigators recovered more than 1,000 explicit photos and videos of the children from Moore’s phone, according to the DA’s office.
Prosecutors said “Moore not only forced the children to engage in sexual acts with him against their will, but he also directed them to engage in sex with one another or forced them to watch while he engaged in sex acts with the other children present.”
The DA’s office said the investigation into Moore began in Newton County after he sent illicit messages and photos to one of the victims through a phone app and told her he was on his way to pick her up for sex.
An adult saw the messages and told the child’s father, who called 911. Deputies arrested Moore when he arrived at the victim’s home, according to the DA’s office.
Prosecutors said Moore was well known in his Lithonia apartment complex “after he built a roller coaster for kids in the community.”
Investigators learned that Moore often took children to “drive go-karts or do other activities and always had kids at his home,” according to the district attorney.
If Moore is granted parole, he will spend the rest of his life on probation and must register as a sex offender, the DA’s office said.
Lithonia man who repeatedly sexually abused 3 children sentenced to life, DeKalb DA says
Prosecutors said the man was well known in his Lithonia apartment complex “after he built a roller coaster for kids in the community.”
