Ex-councilman Alan Moran arrested on felony child sex crime charge. His total bond? $12,000
Former Diamondhead city councilman Alan Moran surrendered to Hancock County authorities Friday to face arrest on a felony sex crime charge.
Moran’s attorney, Donald Rafferty, accompanied him to the Hancock County Sheriff’s Department, where he was booked on a charge of touching of a child for lustful purposes while in a position of trust or authority over the minor, a felony, and two misdemeanor counts of contributing to a minor.
The Sun Herald independently learned of the arrest Friday and the request from Rafferty for an immediate bond reduction hearing upon his client’s surrender.
Despite attempts to find a time for the bond reduction hearing, the Sun Herald couldn’t obtain the information until after the 8:30 a.m. hearing.
One of the two contributing charges is from Moran’s original Valentine’s Day arrest for allegedly fondling a 17-year-old boy who went to work for Moran that day at Phillip’s Pest Control Co., LLC. Moran is the manager there, and his father, state Sen. Philip Moran, owns the business.
Hancock County sheriff’s deputies initially arrested Moran on misdemeanor charges of simple assault and contributing to the delinquency of a minor in the Feb. 14 encounter.
The assault charge is upgraded to a felony touching charge because Moran is charged under a subsection of the state law that makes it a felony offense to inappropriately touch, handle or rub a minor age 16 and older if the alleged offender is in a position of trust or authority over the minor at the time.
Moran served as a business manager over the teen when the alleged felony crime.
The second contributing charge accuses Moran of buying beer for a 17-year-old teen working as a mosquito truck driver for Moran at the alleged Feb. 9 offense, court papers say.
Why a low bond?
Hancock County investigators initially filed the upgraded felony charge on March 10, and Moran’s bond was set at $100,000. court papers show.
On March 11, Moran’s attorney learned of the felony charge and $100,000 bond for that offense but told authorities his client was away tending to other matters. Rafferty then filed a request for a bond reduction hearing for Moran to get the $100,000 bond lowered to $10,000.
The Mississippi Rules of Criminal Procedure recommend a bond of between $10,000 and $20,000 for felony crimes that carry a maximum sentence of 10 to 20 years.
In court papers, Rafferty successfully argued Moran was entitled to a lower bond because he had no prior criminal history, was a lifelong resident of Hancock County with strong family ties and had “numerous friends willing to stand by and support and vouch for him.”
Rafferty also pointed out that Moran is married with a baby on the way.
County Court Judge Trent Favre lowered the bond to $10,000 Friday and set the bond for the two contributing charges at $1,000 each, meaning Moran’s total bond is now $12,000.
As a condition of the bond, the judge ordered Moran to stay away from minors, ages 18 and under, refrain from any electronic communications, including any social media activity, and continue his medical treatment.
The arrest
Moran’s arrest on Feb. 14 occurred after the teen’s father helped detain Moran at a convenience store in the Kiln until Hancock County deputies got there to make the arrest.
The teen’s parents knew to go to the convenience store to help the teen because he had managed to get a text message through to them for help.
The teen told authorities Moran repeatedly touched his genitals and inner thigh area while they were in a Philip’s Pest Control truck.
In addition, Moran stopped at the business apartment, allegedly pulling out a sex toy and asking the teen to play with it. The teen declined all of the advances, including Moran’s alleged request to watch as the teen relieved himself during a stop that day.
Since then, the teen’s parents have filed a civil lawsuit against Moran, Philip’s Pest Control, and A&M Foam Insulation, a company owned by Alan Moran.
“The ... family would like to thank Sheriff Ricky Adam and his team for continuing to thoroughly investigate claims being made against Alan Moran,” said David Baria, the attorney representing the boy’s parents. “These new charges clearly support the allegations that the Dykes are not the Moran’s first victims and that the businesses for which he worked either knew or should have known of previous illegal behavior.”
Ongoing investigation
The criminal investigation is continuing.
Authorities are attempting to do a forensic analysis of a cellphone Moran threw out shortly before his arrest. Officers recovered the phone.
Moran’s latest arrest comes just days after he submitted his resignation as a Ward 2 councilman in Diamondhead.
Moran had served as a Diamondhead councilman since 2017. Voters had reelected him last year.
This story was originally published March 25, 2022 at 10:33 AM.
