By Travis Uresk
4/21/24
| Vernal, Ut. | April 15th, 2024 |
At around 2:30 pm, Cpl Van Leuven was notified of a possible PREA case that occurred in the Uintah County Jail.
Other deputies stated that a female inmate had bite mark bruising on her thighs from 20-year-old Inmate McKenzie Lynn Moore. It was reported to another deputy before Moore was moved to booking that she had been biting a female inmate on the upper thighs.
After Cpl Van Leuven spoke with Deputy Borba, he pulled the female inmate out of the P Pod to talk with her about the incident. She stated that Inmate Moore had forced herself on her throughout several nights after lockdown. Inmate Moore would become aggressive and bite the female's thighs.
The Cpl retrieved a camera and photographed the bite marks and the bruising. He then took his evidence and met with Detective Hall for further investigation.
Det. Hall interviewed the female inmate about the incident, and she explained that Inmate Moore had made her uncomfortable by touching her inappropriately, and it started about a week ago. While describing the incident, the female became very emotional.
The female inmate told the detective that Inmate Moore was interested in her in a sexual way and would call the female her wife. The female stated nothing Inmate Moore did to her was consensual. There were lots of threats expressed by Inmate Moore, including threats of violence if anyone were to find out about it.
The Detective and the Cpl interviewed one of the female inmates who was a witness. The detective asked her what her initial complaint was, and she stated that they have a bi-sexual female in the Pod named McKenzie Moore or Dante Moore.
The witness said she had found Inmate Moore on top of the female inmate at night after lockdown. The female inmate showed the witness her legs, and she said they were "disgustingly bruised" by Inmate Moore biting her. The witness stated that the female inmate told her she was being taken advantage of and didn't know what to do about it.
The female inmate told the witness she was being forced to do sexual things for Inmate Moore. The witness was asked to specify the acts, which were explained to the detective. The witness stated she saw the female inmate trying to push Inmate Moore off of her multiple times.
When the witness was asked how both the inmates acted during the day, she stated that Moore was dominant over the female inmates by making the other inmates stay away from her. The witness then went into detail about how Inmate Moore was mean and threatening to the other inmates and how demanding she was over the female inmate's daily choices.
The witness explained how Inmate Moore would hang a towel on the top bunk to cover the lower bunk to hide what she was doing to the female inmate. The witness stated how Inmate Moore bit another female inmate on the shoulder and how she was hit by Moore multiple times. She also said she could hear the female inmate telling Inmate Moore to get off of her during the night, but then it would go silent.
After Detective Hall and Cpl Van Leuven interviewed the first witness, they spoke to three more witnesses. During those interviews, they all described the same details about Inmate Moore.
The interview with Inmate Moore began with Det. Hall explained that they wanted to talk to her about biting other inmates. She was then asked if she had bitten any inmates, to which Moore replied that she had bitten her female bunkmate, and it was just horsing around.
Inmate Moore was then asked if she was interested in the female, and Inmate Moore expressed that her biting her was not just for the relationship but for horsing around. Inmate Moore was then asked where she bit her, and Inmate Moore stated that she bit her on the thighs.
Inmate Moore explained that the female was on the bunk when this happened. She was asked if she attempted to touch the female inappropriately, and she pushed her away. Inmate Moore stated no, she didn't. She became defensive, stating that people lie to get her in trouble. Then, she was asked if she could apologize, and she stated that she would say sorry for leaving bruises on the female.
Inmate Moore was informed that she was being charged and requested a lawyer. This concluded the interview with Inmate Moore.
After interviewing all the involved parties, it was found that the PREA is substantiated as this was a sexual assault in nature. Due to the circumstances after interviewing the female, the victim advocate was contacted and responded to the jail. The female was also asked if she needed medical attention and stated that she did not. The jail medical staff were made aware of the situation.
The female spoke to the victim advocate and the jail therapist about the situation and will continue follow-ups. Inmate Moore has been separated from the female and all the witnesses. Proper jail procedures have been implemented to prevent contact between Inmate Moore and all involved parties.
Inmate McKenzie Moore is being charged with assault by a prisoner, which is a third-degree felony.
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