Man, 28, is sentenced to seven years in prison after he was caught on camera sucker-punching a 12-year-old boy who was dancing on a sidewalk in Missouri
A Missouri man who was caught on film sucker-punching a 12-year-old boy who was dancing on the sidewalk last summer has been sentenced to seven years in prison.
Cedric Charles Moore Jr of Cape Girardeau pleaded guilty to second-degree assault on May 10, the Southeast Missourian reported last week. He changed his plea from earlier this month.
Moore is the 28-year-old man seen getting out of a black SUV near the intersection of Main Street and Independence Street in downtown Cape Girardeau one evening last July.
As Ethan Hagler dances on a sidewalk near his teacher, Michael Curry, and another boy, Moore quietly sneaks up behind him and winds up his right arm, delivering a blow to the child’s face.
Curry and another friend are seen chasing Moore as he rushed back to the waiting SUV which drove off.
Last July, Ethan Hagler, 12, was dancing (far left) on a sidewalk as Cedric Charles Moore Jr (right) got out of an SUV at the intersection and started sneaking up behind him in Cape Girardeau, Missouri
Moore (right) gets closer to Hagler (left) and begins to wind up as if he is about to hit the boy, who doesn't see him coming
Moore then delivers a vicious blow to Hagler from behind as Hagler's dancing instructor, Michael Curry (sitting down in a white t-shirt), and another boy look on
Days later, Moore was arrested by police. Earlier this month, he pleaded guilty to second-degree assault. He will serve seven years in prison
In the video, Hagler is seen stumbling in an apparent daze after the sucker-punch.
Hagler, who is a dancer at Fingerprint Dance Studio, suffered a bloody nose and a minor concussion. He was treated at the hospital and then released a short time later.
Curry told the Southeast Missourian that he is doing fine.
Video of the horrific assault went viral after it was posted online last summer.
The viral video shocked the internet and prompted Good Samaritans on Facebook to raise nearly $17,000 for the dance studio as well as any medical expenses that resulted from the assault.
'And all of a sudden I see him punch my kid, and instantly, my first reaction is, "What? Why?"' Curry told KSDK-TV in the days after the attack.
'You know, I tried to chase [Moore] back to the car. And as soon as I got the car, I saw there was two other people in the car.
'So I had to think about my child. He’s laying on the ground.
'And from there, it was a lot of people that came up to help, especially Shaker’s, the bar downtown that we usually set up in front of.'
Hagler, who is a dancer at Fingerprint Dance Studio, suffered a bloody nose and a minor concussion. He was treated at the hospital and then released a short time later.
The viral video shocked the internet and prompted Good Samaritans on Facebook to raise nearly $17,000 for the dance studio as well as any medical expenses that resulted from the assault
Moore has a criminal record predating the assault on Hagler.
In April 2019, he was sentenced to probation for domestic assault. That same year, he pleaded guilty to first-degree endangering the welfare of a child and driving while under the influence.
The mother of his child was also granted an order of protection against Moore.
Authorities said that the decision was made not to charge Moore with a hate crime because that would have led to a less severe penalty.
‘The public has understandably expressed a desire to see Moore charged with a hate crime for this heinous crime,’ the Cape Girardeau Police Department said in a statement.
‘In accordance with state statutes, this charge would only apply if the assault was categorized to a lesser degree, which would not be in the best interest of seeking true justice for the victim.’
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