Judge Says Case of Child Molester Who Never Served His Sentence ‘Fell Through the Cracks'
A Georgia judge is taking the blame for the case of a convicted child molester who never served his 15-year sentence.
Melvin Moseley was sentenced eight years ago in Muscogee County after pleading guilty to child molestation based on accusations he had sex with a 15-year-old high school student he met at church, report the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer and the Associated Press.
Judge Douglas Pullen sentenced Moseley in 2003, but allowed him to remain free on bond pending completion of a sexual and psychological evaluation, the Ledger-Inquirer reported in a prior story. The report was completed a month later, but Pullen never held another hearing. “It fell through the cracks,” Pullen told the Ledger-Inquirer. “And it should not have. And it is my job to make sure there are not any cracks and nothing falls through them.”
Prosecutors are seeking Moseley’s immediate surrender to the corrections department in a hearing scheduled for today.
The mix-up has similarities to a Texas case that resulted in freedom for a convicted child molester. Former Austin funeral home owner Stanley Blackwell twice tried to turn himself in 16 years ago to serve a 10-year sentence for assaulting a 14-year-old boy on his ranch, but he was turned away both times because there was no arrest warrant. Blackwell finally went to jail in March of this year. The Texas Court of Criminal appeals ruled earlier this month that Blackwell’s sentence should be reduced to time served.
