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Written by: E. George
Published January 29, 2025 @ 4:05 PM ET
Warning: The following story contains information regarding alleged physical violence against/neglect of children.
GILMER COUNTY, Ga. – On the afternoon of December 2, 2024, two Gilmer County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a welfare check concerning children at a residence on North Orchard Court. The deputies arrived at approximately 5:00 PM to find a troubling scene.
According to the report, the deputies were initially directed to a white single-wide mobile home, which appeared abandoned due to the absence of lights and activity inside. The exterior was marked by piles of trash, old electronics, random personal items, and deteriorating furniture.
The condition of the home was such that even walking onto the porch posed a safety risk, as loose boards were scattered across the area. Deputies also noted a children’s playground in the yard, surrounded by similar debris and trash, and an overwhelming stench of urine and feces near the front door.
As they knocked, the door appeared to be on the verge of falling off. When it did open, a young teenage girl greeted the officers, allowing them a brief glimpse inside.
The deputies immediately noticed the absence of basic necessities such as electricity and heat, which was especially concerning since the outside temperature was around 40 degrees Fahrenheit. When asked about the household, the young girl confirmed that she and her siblings were alone in the home.
She mentioned that their mother was at work, but her siblings, including a younger sister, were inside the house, with one child reportedly asleep. The children explained that they had been without water, power, and heat for at least two months.
The children mentioned the presence of a portable gas heater inside the home as well.
Recognizing the immediate risk to the children’s safety and well-being, the deputies contacted the Department of Family and Children Services (DFCS) for further assistance. In the meantime, they offered the children a safe space in their patrol car to warm up, which they gratefully accepted.
While waiting for assistance, the caller who had requested the welfare check, identified as a neighbor, arrived at the scene. This individual appeared to have a familiar and caring relationship with the children and expressed concern for their well-being.
She informed the officers that the children had two younger brothers at a babysitter’s house, though the children were unsure of the babysitter’s identity.
Approximately 30 minutes later, a DFCS representative arrived, followed by the children’s mother, Jessica Iveth Moore. Moore brought the two younger brothers with her.
During questioning, she initially refused to provide her name but eventually identified herself as Jessica Moore. She claimed that the family had been without power and water for only a week or two, and she had tried to contact the landlord to address the issue. When deputies attempted to contact the landlord, their efforts were unsuccessful as well.
Further investigation revealed concerning details about Moore’s behavior. Previous interactions with law enforcement indicated that she had been unresponsive to critical situations involving her children, including a prior incident where one of the older children had threatened suicide. In that instance, Moore appeared intoxicated and indifferent to the crisis.
She was charged with five counts of cruelty to children in the first degree for her criminal negligence in allowing her children to live without access to necessary utilities and proper shelter for months.
Moore was transported to the Gilmer County Adult Detention Center following her arrest. The children, now removed from the unsafe environment, were given food and placed under the care of DFCS.
The case is under investigation, and the authorities continue to assess the long-term safety and care of the children involved.
Officer’s Narrative:
[Please note: The following is a direct transcription from the official initial incident report. The Georgia Gazette does not fix any spelling or grammatical errors that may exist. Any changes or redactions made by our staff are placed inside brackets. Some errors may exist. All subjects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. The topics discussed may be sensitive to some readers. Discretion is advised.]
On December 2nd 2024 I Deputy C. Knight and Deputy C. Hughes both employed with the Gilmer County Sheriffs Office were dispatched at 4:42 PM to [200 BLOCK] North Orchard CT in reference a welfare check on children located at the residence. I responded code 1 (no lights or sirens). Upon arrival at 5:09 to the residence I saw two people standing outside the neighbors house located to the left of dispatched address. I asked the neighbors if anyone lived next door to which the male stated no I havent seen anyone there in a week. I then began to walk over to the dispatched address which was a white singlewide and appeared to be abandoned due to there being no lights on or noises coming from the house. I noticed the yard and walkway to the house covered in miscellaneous and various trash, trash bags, and random items such as a PlayStation controller. The trash appeared to have been a buildup of months worth of trash.
Upon making my way to the covered porch I noticed various electronics, mattresses, and more filled trash bags and loose trash on the porch. As I began walking toward the front door I stepped on at least one loose board and thought I was going to fall through the porch. I also saw off the far side of the porch a children’s playground set in the yard approximately 10-15 yards from the porch it was also surrounded in trash and at that time I could begin to smell a very foul stench of urine and feces right around the front door to the residence.
I then knocked on the door and noticed as I knocked it seemed like door was barely functional and that if I knocked any harder it would just fall off. Approximately 10- 20 seconds after I Knocked on the door and announced myself and that I work for the Gilmer County Sheriffs office a young lady appearing to be in her early teens answered the door. When she opened the door I noticed again the very strong foul odor coming from inside the residence. I then asked her who all was home and if one of her parents was home. She then stated it was just her and her sisters. I asked if there was an older sister to which she replied yes and she went to get her. She left the door open and I also began to notice there was no heat or light coming from inside the house. Given that it was roughly 40 degree outside I found that very out of the ordinary.
After a few seconds another young teenage girl appeared with the original young woman I talked to. I later identified the girls as [REDACTED BY AGENCY] and [REDACTED BY AGENCY]. I asked the girls where their mother was and they both stated she was at work and indicated she would return later that night. I then asked the girls if there was anyone else inside the house to which they replied they had another little sister that was inside the house asleep. I then asked them if they had any heat or electricity in the house and they told me no that they had no water, power, or heat in a while. I asked them specifically how long they had not had water or power and they said at least 2 months. The children did state that they had stayed in a hotel the night before. I then asked again if they had anything for heat or warming to which they replied they had a portable gas heater inside sitting on the floor. Given my knowledge and experience as a Firefighter and AEMT in a previous career I knew this to be very dangerous for the health and well being of anyone living inside that residence. I then told [REDACTED BY AGENCY] and [REDACTED BY AGENCY] I was going to talk to my partner for a minute and that we would return.
Deputy Hughes and I then walked off the porch and started talking about what was the best course of action for this situation. Given that the children had no access to appropriate shelter, running water or power and the gas portable heater, we thought the best course of action was to contact Department of Family and Children Services (DFACS) to see what could be done for the children. I then contacted dispatch via radio and requested them to contact DFACS and have them call me on my personal phone for a rendezvous with one of their representatives.
I then returned to front door to talk to the girls and told them that if they wanted to sit in my patrol car with the heat on that they were more than welcome to given the outside temperature and living conditions inside the house. They seemed almost excited to sit in the back of my patrol car. [REDACTED BY AGENCY] then asked if she needed to wake her sister up to join them to which I replied yes. As they sat in the car and warmed up we waited on the phone call from a DFACS representative.
After approximately 30 minutes or so I received a phone call from the state DFACS and she connected me with [REDACTED] the supervisor for the Gilmer county DFACS office. All while I was talking with Mrs. [REDACTED] my partner Deputy Hughes was on the phone with our supervisor Sargeant Perigo which instructed us to bring the [REDACTED] children to Uniformed Patrol Division headquarters (UPD) and to tell the children to contact their mother and tell her that she needed to meet us there so we could speak to her. I then told Ms. [REDACTED] to tell the representative to UPD to interview the children and mother when she arrived. She said Mrs. [REDACTED] would be there.
In the process of getting the children to contact their mother the original caller who had requested the welfare check arrived on scene with her boyfriend. The callers name is [WITNESS #1]. We allowed Ms. [WITNESS #1] to check on the children and talk to them it appeared that the children were familiar with Ms. [WITNESS #1]. Ms. [WITNESS #1] also showed care and concern for the children. We also then found out that they had two younger brothers that were at a babysitters house, but they did not know where or who the babysitter was. I asked what their names and birthdays were they then told me [REDACTED BY AGENCY] and [REDACTED BY AGENCY] were their names and then gave me the birthdays which are listed in this report. We arranged for food to be brought to UPD so the children could have a warm meal and headed to UPD.
Upon arrival at UPD we got then children inside and in our conference room and gave them some food, As we waited for their mother and Mrs. [REDACTED] from DFACS to show up. Mrs. [REDACTED] arrived and began to interview the children about the same time the mother, Ms. Jessica Moore, arrived we escorted Ms. Moore to an office inside UPD. I would like to add Ms. Moore arrived with the two younger brothers [REDACTED BY AGENCY] and [REDACTED BY AGENCY] they accompanied her to the office where we asked a few questions while Mrs. [REDACTED] interviewed the older children ([REDACTED BY AGENCY] and [REDACTED BY AGENCY]
While I talked with Ms. Moore I asked her for her name to which she replied “I dont really have one right now” I then explained to Ms. Moore that lying about your name to a peace officer is a crime. She then told me Jessica Moore. I asked her where she worked she stated she worked at La Catrina and that she works 7 days a week and that her hours varied from 10AM-4Pm or 4PM-10PM. I then asked Ms. Moore how long they had been without power or water she stated only a week or two and that she had made multiple attempts to call the land lord [REDACTED] (she could not give me a last name) to get him to fix it. Ms. Moore gave ma his phone number and I made 3 attempts to contact [REDACTED] the landlord all of which were unsuccessful. I asked her if something was broken with the power and water or that if it was shut off for non-payment. Ms. Moore stated it was broken.
I then went to see if Mrs. [REDACTED] was done interviewing the older daughters of Ms. Moore in the conference room and to tell her that the two boys were now here with the mother. She was wrapping up their conversation with the daughter when I walked in and said she would now interview the mother. Mrs. [REDACTED] then went into the office with Ms. Moore and began to interview her with the boys [REDACTED BY AGENCY] and [REDACTED BY AGENCY] I then stepped out and talked to my colleague’s that had previously been to the [REDACTED] residence. Corporal Robinson then stated she had been out to the residence before in reference to one of the older daughters threatening suicide Corporal Robinson then stated when she was there the mother Ms. Moore was there and appeared very drunk and non-concerned about her daughter threatening suicide.
I then decided to try and get the young boys to go sit with their sister in the conference room they went to see them with no hesitation. After Ms. Moore was done being interviewed and filling out paper work with Mrs. [REDACTED] I placed Ms. Moore under arrest for 5 counts of cruelty to children in the second degree. Time of arrest was 1903. Ms. Moore showed criminal negligence by allowing her children to not have access to heat, running water for bathing or using the bathroom, and power for months all while having the ability to pay for it or pay to have it fixed. I placed her in handcuffs behind her back checked them for fit and double locked them. I then informed Ms. Moore of her Miranda Rights and asked her if she understood she stated no. I then escorted her outside of UPD and in front of my patrol car (#422) and requested Corporal Robinson Search her. She was then placed in the back seat and secured by a lap and shoulder belt and was driven to Gilmer County adult detention center where she was turned over to detention staff.
Later the next day December 3rd 2024 I contacted Ms. [WITNESS #1] the neighbor to gather a witness statement form.
[End of Narrative]
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