Teen reaches plea deal in Walker Middle rape case

One of four teens accused of sexually assaulting a flag football teammate in a Walker Middle School locker room has struck a plea deal with prosecutors.

Randall John Moye pleaded guilty today to one count of felony battery in exchange for being sentenced as a juvenile. He also agreed to testify against the other teens.

Juvenile sanctions could range from probation to incarceration generally until age 18, although it could continue until age 22 under certain circumstances.

If Moye does not testify truthfully against his three codefendants, he could be sentenced as an adult and face up to five years in prison.

Sentencing has not been set. Hillsborough Circuit Judge Chet A. Tharpe ordered Florida Department of Juvenile Justice officials to conduct a presentencing report.

As part of the report, Moye must be evaluated on whether he needs psychological or sex offender treatment, Assistant State Attorney Kimberly Hindman said.

Moye and his father declined to comment as they left the courthouse in downtown Tampa. The family no longer lives in the Tampa Bay area.

The victim and his family weren't in the courtroom. Hindman said they had approved the deal. She said they may speak at Moye's sentencing.

Each of the four teens initially was charged as an adult with four counts of sexual battery.

Hindman said she would drop the remaining counts of sexual battery against Moye at sentencing. Moye pleaded guilty to a non-sexual offense and won't be treated as a sex offender, she said.

Tharpe scheduled a status hearing in Moye's case for April 14.

Moye, Lee Louis Myers, Raymond Price-Murray and Diemante Roberts, all 15, were arrested in May, accused of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old flag football teammate in the Walker Middle locker room in March and April.

Prosecutors said Roberts and Price-Murray used a hockey stick and broomstick to assault their teammate while Myers and Moye restrained him. Tests of DNA taken from items seized in the case didn't find matches for any of the defendants.

Prosecutors said the plea deal was offered to Moye's attorneys about a month ago in a three-page letter.

With his father standing behind him, Moye answered each of Tharpe's questions with a "Yes, sir" or "No, sir."

When asked how he would like to plead, he said "Guilty."

Timothy Taylor, an attorney for Myers, said the plea agreement "should have little effect" on his client. Prosecutors dropped two of the charges against Myers in November after his attorneys provided documents establishing the teen didn't attend flag football practice during the days covered by those charges.

Taylor said Moye's previous statements to investigators did not mention Myers' involvement in the alleged attack.

Attorneys for Price-Murray and Roberts couldn't be reached for comment.

Moye's plea "really ratchets up the pressure on defense counsel to negotiate a resolution," said Tampa defense lawyer Daniel J. Fernandez, who is not associated with the case. "Every good defense attorney is always looking for a way to resolve a case before trial."

Fernandez said the plea likely bolsters the state's case.

"Before you only had the victim's version of what occurred," he said. "Now you have someone else to substantiate what the victim said."

However, the deal could benefit the other defendants if Moye's recollection differs from that of the victim, Fernandez said.

"If it contradicts, it creates a very valuable new defense tool," he said.

Clearwater lawyer Jay Herbert doesn't anticipate much of a shift in tactics based on the plea.

"I expect the state attorney's office has a very good understanding of who the major players were and who the minor players were," said Herbert, who is not involved in the case. "The resolution of each of these cases will be dictated by their (the teens') involvement and their willingness to testify against their co-defendants based on what they saw."