Nearly 10 months after pleading guilty to producing child pornography, a Georgia man was sentenced to 22 years in prison, authorities said.
Richard Hunt Moore Jr., 49, of Hephzibah, was sentenced Tuesday and ordered to pay $1 million in restitution, according to a news release by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Georgia. He was one of three people convicted in the federal investigation, AJC.com previously reported.
The FBI, along with the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office, launched the investigation in January 2019 when Moore was found with a 14-year-old boy at the Red Roof Inn on Belair Frontage Road in Augusta. The teenager was able to tip off authorities by picking up a motel employee’s cellphone and typing the message “Help Me.”
After authorities were contacted, child porn was found on Moore’s electronic devices, leading to his arrest.
“This monstrous predation came to an end when a child in danger reached out to a motel worker, and that alert staff member quickly notified authorities,” U.S. Attorney Bobby Christine said in the news release.
In the subsequent investigation into the images found in Moore’s possession, authorities arrested Charles Casey Garner, 40, of Brooklet, and Carl Scott Ruger, 40, of Guyton, the release said. They also eventually pleaded guilty to a count of producing child porn.
Credit: Columbia County Sheriff's Office
Credit: Columbia County Sheriff's Office
Garner was sentenced to 15 years in prison followed by 15 years on supervised released, and he was also ordered to pay a $1 million fine, the release said. Ruger is awaiting his sentencing.
A fourth suspect was also identified in the investigation, but he killed himself in Illinois before he could be questioned, the release said.
After Moore’s 22-year prison sentence, he will serve 20 years on supervised release. He also has additional charges that are pending in state court.
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