Former Louisville high school basketball coach sentenced for sexually abusing teen

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A former Christian Academy of Louisville basketball coach who pleaded guilty to 11 charges of rape, sodomy and sexual abuse of a juvenile was sentenced Wednesday to serve seven years in prison.

Clarence Moore pleaded guilty in December to engaging in sexual misconduct with a 17-year-old minor between November 2022 and January 2023.

Prosecutors have said the alleged crimes occurred during private basketball lessons.

Moore was scheduled to face a jury trial in June but instead pleaded guilty on Dec. 3 after mediation between the defense and prosecution.

He pleaded guilty to unlawful transaction with a minor, third-degree rape, third-degree sodomy and several counts of sexual abuse.

Jefferson Circuit Court Judge Jennifer Wilcox formally sentenced Moore on March 26.

As part of the sentence, Moore must register as a sex offender and will be under a 10-year protective order forbidding him from having any contact with the victim or her family.

Attorney Leland Hulbert, who is representing Moore, said Moore wanted to address the victim and her family but was advised not to do so because Moore still has a felony case pending in Oldham County involving the same victim.

"I think in my experience with Mr. Moore, he's a very kind man and an excellent father and he wants to take responsibility for his actions," Hulbert said after the hearing. "It's my opinion that treatment would benefit him more than incarceration but he respects the law," which requires a prison sentence.

The victim was not in court for the sentencing, though her mother gave an emotional statement on her behalf.

The Oldham County case is being delayed as lab reports are still not finished, despite the case being two years old.

On June 20, 2023, Oldham County Police received a report of the sexual assault of a 17-year-old in the 9000 block of Covered Bridge Road, according to law enforcement.

The assault, according to police, occurred June 18, 2023, at a home where Moore was also living at the time.

During the investigation, Oldham County police detectives discovered additional crimes involving the same victim and Moore in Jefferson County.

The two agencies have been working together on the case.

Christian Academy officials have said Moore has not coached at the school since the 2021-22 season, when he was an assistant.

Moore, who owned Legacy Training Academy and has worked as a basketball trainer in Louisville, also previously coached at Kentucky State University.

Moore played college basketball at Georgia Tech and helped lead the team to the 2004 NCAA Tournament Championship Game, in which they lost to the University of Connecticut.

This story may be updated.