August 20, 2020 at 4:56 p.m.
Judge cites defendant's criminal record, gravity of offense in Moren sentencing decision
Judge cites defendant's criminal record, gravity of offense in Moren sentencing decision
His criminal history was one of a number of factors the judge considered in handing down a sentence of 25 years initial confinement followed by 13 years extended supervision.
Moren was charged July 10, 2018 with first-degree reckless injury, first-degree sexual assault, strangulation and suffocation, aggravated battery and burglary of a building or dwelling, all felonies, as well misdemeanor criminal damage to property and misdemeanor bail jumping, all as a repeater.
DNA evidence collected during a SANE examination of the victim matched a sample Moren had voluntarily provided via a cheek swab test, according to the complaint.
On Jan. 14, assistant district attorney Jillian Pfeifer amended both the reckless injury and sexual assault charges from first to second degree. In exchange for Moren's no contest pleas, Pfeifer requested that some charges in this and two other cases be dismissed but read into the record for sentencing purposes while others were dismissed outright. A pre-sentence investigation was also ordered.
At sentencing, the daughter of the victim spoke on behalf of her mother.
"The day has come, after 26 months," she said. "Not a day goes by that this crime doesn't get thought about in our lives. What you did is pure evil, it wasn't human. Do you even know what you did?"
The daughter stated that Moren broke into her mother's house, raped and strangled her.
"You threw her in the hallway and left her for dead," the daughter said. She also reminded Moren that her mother is old enough to be his grandmother.
She then went on to list the physical injuries her mother suffered during the beating Moren inflicted on her.
According to the criminal complaint, the elderly woman's daughter told police she went to check on her mother during the afternoon of June 10 and found her in the bathroom with bruises all over her body, including her face, arms and torso.
"Why would you do this? You should be behind bars forever," she told Moren.
Pfeifer told O'Melia the victim lived alone prior to this incident but now lives with her daughter.
She also noted that prior to the DNA results coming back, Moren was interviewed by detectives, "and the interview shed light on the defendant's demeanor." She said even during the second interview, after the DNA results came back, Moren was "smiling and laughing during that interview."
In an interview with the author of the pre-sentence investigation report, he continued to maintain he did not sexually assault the victim. she added.
"When he was asked how the defendant felt about the victim, he simply shrugged his shoulders and he said that he felt sorry (for her)," Pfeifer said.
She said the author of the PSI report was able to establish that in the five years Moren has been an adult, he has amassed several convictions and has yet to successfully complete a probation sentence without being revoked.
"He is not a productive member of society, and he has not been a productive member of society his entire adult life," Pfeifer said. "He is immature and irresponsible."
She also noted that all of his Moren's prior criminal convictions are related to drug use.
"But it has got to stop," Pfeifer said. "And he needs to be held fully responsible for it."
She then recommended a sentence of between 20 and 25 years initial incarceration followed by 10 years of extended supervision.
Moren's attorney Daniel Francis Snyder argued for a shorter term behind bars and a longer period of extended supervision.
"The presentation by the assistant district attorney and in the PSI and by (victim's) daughter all focus - and appropriately - on the effects on (victim)," Snyder said. "But the law, the law requires more."
Based on established case law, the judge must take into consideration many factors in arriving at a sentencing determination. he noted. These factors include the gravity of the offense, "but also take into consideration the particular circumstances of the defendant." The culpability of the defendant being another major factor.
"Culpability talks more about moral fault," Snyder said. "While legal fault can be a black and white proposition, either the defendant did it or not, culpability, moral fault, I believe, is more nuanced proposition because it has shades of gray."
He said Pfeifer touched on this when she said Moren acted irresponsibly on the day in question by doing drugs all day.
"The focus on Mr. Moren's drug use is not meant to suggest, 'oh, I didn't do this,'" Snyder said. "'The drugs made me do it.' That's not what he said, he never said that. We're not saying that in the sentencing memorandum."
Snyder said the drug use does go to the issue of Moren's culpability.
Moren has an "extensive record for someone so young" but that record is largely explained by his drug addiction, the law, the lawyer said.
He also noted Moren's high scores on the diagnostic tests used in the PSI report also are a result of his drug addiction.
Snyder also noted that Moren's long criminal record does not include a history of violent crimes or sexual assault.
"There is nothing in that long prior record, as I view it, that suggests anything but self-destruction on his part," Snyder said.
Moren apologized to the victim and her family for the pain and suffering he caused, and said it was the drugs he took that night that caused him to blackout and assault the woman. He said he would seek to better himself while in prison.
O'Melia reviewed Moren's prior criminal record dating back to when he was a juvenile. He then listed all of Moren's adult convictions, and sentences, dating back to age 17 when he was first charged as an adult.
"Then we get to the drug use, which, frankly, is startling in the length of time, substances and the lack of any sort of intervention," O'Melia said, listing off the list of substances Moren used and at which age he started using them. "You're a good person when sober."
O'Melia also remarked on Snyder's argument that Moren wasn't culpable because of his drug addiction.
"Every day, you woke up and decided you were going to put yourself in a situation where you would do something stupid," O'Melia said, noting that the fact the victim survived the attack "was just dumb lock on your part."
O'Melia sentenced Moren to 20 years initial confinement on the sexual assault charge, with 10 years extended supervision. On the reckless injury charge, O'Melia sentenced Mullen to 5 years initial confinement and 3 years extended supervision, to be served consecutively for a total of 25 years behind bars. Moren was given 793 days sentence credit for the time in jail during the pendency of the case. He must also pay $2,742.60 in specific restitution plus $10,000 additional restitution allowed under state statute.
Jamie Taylor may be reached via email at jamie@rivernews online.com.
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