The man accused of kidnapping and sexually abusing a child in the Bay Terraces area earlier this week is registered as a sex offender on the Megan’s Law website.
San Diego Police said on March 3, a 12-year-old girl was walking home from school along the 2400 block of Dusk Drive when Delaeno Moorman, 35, allegedly drove up and coerced the child to get in his car. Moorman was then said to have driven the girl around for several hours while touching her inappropriately before he eventually dropped her off near her house.
Stg. David Peplowski, with San Diego Police’s Child Abuse Unit, said investigators worked non-stop to find the suspect whom they later identified as Moorman. Peplowski also said they used license plate readers to find Moorman.
Moorman was booked into a San Diego County jail and is facing charges for kidnapping, lewd and lascivious acts on a child under age 14 and violation of parole.
Megan’s Law, an online registry of sex offenders, indicates Moorman was convicted for two sex crimes in 2012 and was released from prison last year. It is unclear if he was incarcerated from 2012 to 2025. He was seen as an “above average risk” to commit another sex crime, according to California’s sex offender risk assessment.
Peplowski said parents should talk to children about how to stay out of danger.
“Parents should be very upfront with their kids about safety, about not talking to strangers, about putting themselves in situations where they know where they’re going and who they’re talking to,” he said.
Moorman’s next court appearance is scheduled for March 16.