Police Imposter Guilty of Sexually Assaulting Women In Hollywood Area

LOS ANGELES, CA — An Orange County man was convicted Tuesday of impersonating a police officer to fondle two women in separate incidents in the Hollywood area and ordering another woman to take off her clothes.

A Los Angeles Superior Court jury deliberated about 4 1/2 hours before finding Joseph Christoph Moore, 41, of Anaheim guilty of one felony count each of assault with intent to commit a sexual assault, criminal threats, grand theft and second-degree burglary and two counts of false imprisonment by violence.

He was also convicted of one misdemeanor count of sexual battery and three misdemeanor counts of unlawful use of a badge, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.

Moore stopped two women within less than a week in the Hollywood area while pretending to be a police officer in November 2015, said Deputy District Attorney Lowrie Mendoza.

Moore approached one woman on Nov. 24, 2015, flashed a badge and fondled her breasts. He approached a second woman less than a week later, showed her a badge and fondled her buttocks, according to the prosecutor.

He also locked himself inside a store in downtown Los Angeles in October 2015 with the female owner and made her take off her clothes after claiming to be a detective investigating counterfeit money, according to the prosecutor. Moore fled when the woman's ex-husband arrived at the store.

Moore was arrested in December 2015, after Los Angeles police circulated security video footage, and has remained behind bars since then.

Moore -- who had a prior conviction for assault with intent to commit rape -- is facing a potential life prison term, the prosecutor said. He is set to be sentenced July 25.

City News Service