At lakelanier.com, we try to present information about Lake Lanier. That’s harder than it sounds. Our focus will never be on local crimes.
At times, people who visit the lake are concerned about their safety. There have been rampant rumors of a rapist on the loose in the northern area of the lake, as discussed on WDUN Radio’s Morning Talk program again this morning, when Hall County Sheriff Gerald Couch was questioned about the status of the investigation of the alleged rape.
Shortly before 1 PM on August 21, 2013, the Hall County Sheriff’s Office delivered a press release stating they arrested 24 year-old Jillian Shea Moore in relation to the July 31st North Hall sexual assault investigation.
On that date just after 9:00 AM, Sheriff’s Deputies and Investigators responded to Moore’s residence in the 5700 block of Avalon Commons Way, in Clermont, regarding a report of a sexual assault. When they arrived, Deputies discovered the complainant with a minor stab wound to her abdomen.
She reported that she had been raped and stabbed by a masked black male in her home, who then stole jewelry items and fled the scene. She was transported to Northeast Georgia Medical Center, where she was treated for a non-life threatening injury.
After a thorough investigation, Sheriff’s Investigators, assisted by Agents of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, have determined that Moore was not the victim of a crime and that her stab wound is consistent with being self-inflicted.
As a result, she has been arrested and charged with one count each of False Report of a Crime (misdemeanor) and Making a False Statement (felony). Moore was booked into the Hall County Jail, and is currently free on $6,000 bond.
This incident received a great deal of attention in the North Hall / Gainesville area, and the Sheriff’s Office is well aware that many residents have had safety concerns and experienced frustration over what they perceived as a lack of information about the case.
The Sheriff’s Office had to complete a thorough investigation into the matter before any substantive information could be released.
Sheriff Gerald Couch’s Statement
“It’s important to understand that we walk a very fine line in cases like this. On one hand we have to ensure that we’re protecting a person presumed to be the victim of a terrible crime by pursuing all leads and seeking to bring the perpetrator to justice, while ensuring the safety of the community at large. On the other hand, if the facts lead us to believe that the case is unfounded we have to properly establish that while reassuring citizens that their community is safe. Until all the facts were known in this case, we simply could not lean too heavily in one direction or the other. To do so would have been either a terrible injustice to the presumed victim or created an even greater alarm in the community. The most important point is that we ensure our investigation is thorough, accurate, and objective. In this case the evidence indicates that Jillian Moore’s allegations are false, so it now becomes our legal obligation to hold her accountable for that. This has been an unfortunate situation for her and her family, as well as the local residents, and it’s our hope that we will all soon be able to move forward as a community.”
This case remains under investigation by the Hall County Sheriff’s Office, Criminal Investigations Division.
