By Alexandra Zayas, Times Staff Writer
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Randall Moye, one of four teens accused in the brutal attack on a Walker Middle student, was sentenced Wednesday morning to juvenile probation in a plea deal that reduced his charges to felony battery.
TAMPA — The last of four teens charged with raping a fellow Walker Middle School student was sentenced Wednesday morning to juvenile probation in a plea deal that reduced his charges to felony battery.
Randall Moye, 16, was the first of four students to accept a plea deal, which required him to cooperate with truthful testimony in the prosecution of the others. Assistant state attorney Kimberly Hindman said Moye complied.
Circuit Judge Chet A. Tharpe told Moye he must report to a probation officer, attend school or maintain employment, complete 100 hours of community service, have no contact with the victim, complete counseling and write the victim a letter of apology. Once all conditions are met, the Department of Juvenile Justice can move to terminate his probation.
Tharpe withheld adjudication, meaning Moye is not a felon.
He and three other teens — Raymond Price-Murray, Lee Louis Myers and Diemante Roberts — were accused last year of subjecting a fellow flag football teammate to repeated attacks in which they sodomized him with a broom handle and a hockey stick.
The victim and his family made a conscious decision not to go to court, Hindman said. They wanted Moye punished but also to lead a productive life. They want to put the incident behind them and to be left alone.
Moye did not speak in court, but his public defender Maura Doherty said he still denies sodomizing the victim, and that he passed a polygraph test. The Moye family declined to comment afterward.
"He wishes for me to relay to the court that he is remorseful for this participation in this incident," Doherty said.
The Moye family declined to comment after the hearing.