Nashville man charged with kidnap, rape of teens gets bond reduced

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WZTV) — A man charged with raping two teen girls at gunpoint in Nashville will have a better chance of awaiting his trial at home.

A Davidson County Judge reduced the man's bond, outraging victim rights advocates.

Advocates for victims of sexual assault told FOX 17 News the judge's decision makes it seem like the defendant's life matters more.

The suspect's attorney told FOX 17 News his bond was previously unreasonable.

Dejuan Moore's bond has been lowered from $810,000 to $304,000 in Judge Khadija Babb's courtroom.

RELATED: Outrage as Tenn. convicted child molester wants lower bond for similar sexual crime

Moore is charged with three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, three counts of especially aggravated kidnapping, two counts of aggravated rape, resisting arrest, evading arrest and evading arrest by a motor vehicle.

Lorraine McGuire is the Vice President of Community Relations at the Sexual Assault Center and she said lowering bond like this undermines victims' pain.

"It makes it seem like his life is more important than the victims he sexually assaulted," she said.

Metro Police said back on November 24 around 2 in the morning, Moore asked three teen girls at a gas station to a party and they refused.

Officers said he then chased them down and made them pull over behind a Dollar General store on Lafayette Street. They said he then forced two of the girls to perform sex acts on him at gunpoint.

The third girl called 911, police said.

The bond order showed that during the call you can hear one girl begging "please don't hurt me," and there was a scream.

The state argued for the higher bond because of the nature of the accusations and the number of charges. The state also argued the defendant is the epitome of danger to the community, and he is flight risk because of his ties to Illinois because he is from Chicago.

Moore's new defense attorney Jennifer Thompson argued Moore has "strong ties to the Nashville community," and has no previous criminal history.

The bond order said Moore was arrested in Chicago for gun possession but testimony said it was dismissed.

We also discovered Moore has a girlfriend and wants to be let out of jail to support her and her young children.

Thompson pointed out to the judge he needs to get back to work.

"He was supporting of him and his girlfriend and their household," Thompson told FOX 17 News.

Judge Babb acknowledged Moore's charges are troubling but ruled in the favor of the defense, citing proof at the bond hearing and the nature of the offense among other things.

McGuire told FOX 17 News the ruling is an injustice.

"That can be incredibly triggering to survivors who hear this and make them lose faith in trying to pursue criminal justice," said McGuire.

Moore's next court date is expected to be on July 31, 2025 at 9 a.m. in Judge Babb's courtroom.

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