PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) – A retired judge and former state delegate has been charged with sexual battery.
The honorable William S. Moore, who spent seven years working in the Portsmouth Circuit Court system and 15 years in the Juvenile and Domestic Court system, is accused of grabbing a woman’s hand and placing it on an inappropriate region of his body.
First reported by the Virginian-Pilot, the incident is alleged to have taken place June 29 at the Elizabeth Manor Country Club in Portsmouth.
According to court documents, the victim said she initially approached Moore to inquire about playing cards with him and his wife the next day.
“As I approached him he took my hand and placed it on his ******,” it reads. “I snatched my hand away and walked away.”
The sexual battery charge is a misdemeanor. Moore was arraigned July 28 and has an adjudicatory hearing set for Oct. 23.
After retiring as a Portsmouth judge, Moore found work as a judicial settlement conference judge for the 3rd Judicial Circuit. He has also worked as a mediator for Juridical Solutions, and is listed on the website of both.
Moore served as a state delegate from 1983 to 1997, representing the 79th District, which included Portsmouth, Chesapeake and Suffolk at the time (before it was moved due to redistricting).