Federal judge in Mobile orders convicted sex offender jailed pending trial on child porn charges

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) - A federal judge on Tuesday ordered a convicted sex offender detained pending trial on new child pornography and gun charges.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Katherine “Kit” Nelson ruled that Frederick Norville Moore, 73, is a danger to the community. The judge cited the defendant’s lack of stable address, his criminal record and his history of substance abuse.

Moore has been indicted on charges of possession of child pornography and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

The charges arise from an Alabama Law Enforcement Agency investigation launched in 2021 after a cyber tip from Microsoft indicating that someone with a device in Mobile had uploaded child pornography into the Bing search engine in an effort to locate similar images.

A search of Moore’s home on Abilene Drive South in May turned up an image of a girl younger than 10 in a sexually explicit position, according to court records. Authorities also contend that the search resulted in the seizure of a loaded 9mm pistol that Moore was not allowed to have because of a previous sexual abuse conviction.

According to the judge’s written order, Moore recently separated from his wife and has been living since August at a motel room in Foley, and has been working as a handyman. The motel room is close to a school and the YMCA but not with the 2,000-foot zone prohibited for sex offenders.

In addition to his 1994 conviction on two counts of first-degree child sexual abuse in 1994 in Mobile County Circuit Court, Moore had a 1977 federal conviction for sale phencyclidine, according to court records.

At a detention hearing this week, a Homeland Security Investigations agent testified that investigators found more than 500 images of child sexual abuse during a search of the defendant’s house. The agent testified that Moore admitted that he knew he was not allowed to have a gun but that his grandson had given it to him for his protection.

Moore told authorities that he used cocaine during the 1980s and currently smokes marijuana daily, according to court records. The Office of Pretrial Services reported that Moore had begun seeing a therapist since his arrest and that he had suicidal thoughts.

If convicted of the gun charge, Moore faces a mandatory-minimum 15-year sentence.

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