Clarence Moore -- New Jersey, 1986

True Stories of Injustice...

Clarence Moore -- New Jersey, 1986

Just recently CM began its investigation into the case of Clarence Moore, who was convicted in 1986 of raping a New Jersey woman asleep in her home. Moore is presently serving out a 25-years-to-life sentence. His conviction was based exclusively upon the victim’s questionable identification, and CM is working to prove that Moore is the wrong man.

The victim testified that her attacker entered her small cottage home at 1:30 a.m. and raped her in her bedroom. Initially the victim was only able to give a very vague description of the rapist because, as she admitted, her room was poorly lit, she was near-sighted, and she did not wear her contact lenses. The police never asked the victim to draw a composite or view mug shots until she was hypnotized more than one month after the rape. The victim then picked out a two-year-old photograph of Moore, which depicted him with no moustache and some facial hair. At the time of the alleged attack, Moore sported a full Fu Man Chu and no other facial hair.

The prosecution’s theory of the case was that Moore forced entry into the victim’s home by manipulating a window near the door. However, the police reports indicated no signs of forced entry and the victim herself said that her attacker said she should not give out her keys. The prosecution also argued that Moore staked out the victim prior to the rape, as supported by the victim’s testimony that she heard strange noises near her house for several nights preceding the attack. The prosecution further maintained that one of the motives for the crime was financial gain, because the victim’s money was taken and she testified that her attacker repeatedly asked her for money.

However, Moore owned a successful masonry business, including several vehicles and equipment, in a distant New Jersey township. He was also a devoted father of three young children (including a newborn with a heart defect). Besides being a Boy Scout troop leader, he was also a Pop Warner football coach. Moreover, Clarence Moore was busily tending to his wife, who then suffered from a painful breast infection following childbirth. Therefore, he was far too preoccupied with his business and domestic affairs to have had the time to stalk someone for several nights in a distant town. Finally, Moore was financially stable enough that it would have been unreasonable for him to rob a woman living in a small cottage.

DNA tests conducted on semen stains found on the victim’s bedspread already exclude Moore. However, the prosecution now contends that the semen belongs to the victim’s then-boyfriend. Thus, CM’s immediate goal is to locate the victim’s former boyfriend. They intend to test his sperm and his saliva as well (saliva samples were also taken from the crime scene). CM’s Kate Germond hopes that if the samples do not match, the prosecution may be persuaded that the semen and saliva came from the real rapist — not Moore.

National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL)
1025 Connecticut Ave. NW, Ste. 901, Washington DC 20036
www.criminaljustice.org / www.nacdl.org
(202) 872-8600 / FAX(202) 872-8690 / assist@nacdl.com