Former corrections officer accused of raping women denied bond
FULTON COUNTY, Ga. - Former corrections officer Matthew Moore was back in his cell at the Fulton County Jail awaiting his next court appearance on sexual assault charges.
Fulton County Superior Judge Craig Schwall denied bond after hearing testimony from a Sandy Springs police detective who said more has frequently asked his father and daughter about the location of his passport during phone calls he's made from the jail.
"I've listened to every single phone call keys made over the last few weeks and including this week, he asks about the location of his passport. That concerned us, based on the level of violence of his crimes, he would likely flee the country to avoid prosecution," said Detective William Johnson, who was the lead investigator on the Sandy Springs sexual assault cases.
MORE: Police: Former Alabama officer committed 'series of sexual assaults'
According to Assistant Fulton County D.A. Amy Ferguson, the now-former corrections officer raped one woman at Sandy Springs hotel on Hammond Drive in June 2010. She said in November 2017, he raped a different woman at a Barfield road hotel, also located in Sandy Springs.
He held her at knifepoint and full. Handcuffs. He cut off her clothing and told her she would have to do whatever he told him to do and then he pulled out his cell phone and set it up on the bed so that he could record this incident," Ferguson told the judge.
A team of state and federal investigators said DNA and cell phone evidence also connects Moore to two sexual assaults in Alabama, one in Florida and a recent case in Cobb County where a woman told police a man impersonating a police officer held her against her will and raped her.
In April, Moore was at work when police arrested him at the St. Clair Correctional Facility near Birmingham. Drudge Schwab didn't mince any words when he denied bond for Moore.
"People would think I've lost my mind if I gave him a bond. I believe he is a danger to society and a flight risk and bond is denied," said Judge Schwall.
RELATED: Police say more victims of former Ala. corrections officer likely
A Fulton County judge denied bond for a former corrections officer accused of raping women in three states for more than a decade.
Sandy Springs Police said Matthew Moore has been linked to sexual assaults in Sandy Springs, Cobb County, Alabama, and Florida, spanning over the last ten years.
"When we took Moore into custody we executed a search warrant for his DNA that was processed by GBI and confirmed," said Detective Will Johnson, Sandy Springs Police Department.