Man who molested girl since infancy says he made ‘horrendous choices’ and is sentenced to prison

IDAHO FALLS — An Idaho Falls man who molested a girl since the time she was an infant and possessed more than 10,000 images of explicit child pornography said he made “horrendous choices that have horrendous consequences” before being sentenced Monday.

Bryon Lee Moore, 36, was sentenced to 35 years in prison by District Judge Dane Watkins. Ten years are fixed, and 25 years are indeterminate.

“This court expects you to be subject to the Department of Correction through all of your adult life well into your elderly years,” Watkins said, noting that Moore will be 71 years old when the sentence is complete.

Moore was arrested in November when investigators seized his computers and those owned by his friend, Brandon Jay Rydalch.

Rydalch is scheduled for a jury trial in June.

In February, Moore pleaded guilty to possessing sexually exploitative material involving a child, distributing sexually exploitative material involving a child and lewd conduct with a child under 16.

RELATED | Court documents reveal disturbing details in case of men arrested for child sex crimes

During interviews, he admitted to police that he had been sexually abusing a 6-year-old girl since she was a baby.

Before Moore was sentenced, a letter written by the child’s mother was read in court.

“(She) doesn’t remember what was done to her. Knowing what he did since my daughter was an infant has broken me,” the letter said. “I’m terrified every time she says, ‘Mommy, can I talk to you?’ that she’s going to tell me that she remembers something he did to her. She didn’t and still doesn’t understand what happened. It breaks me to know.”

Bonneville County Deputy Prosecutor John Dewey noted that Moore has been “very forthcoming” with investigators about what happened and recommended that Moore serve 30 years in prison – with 12 years fixed and 18 indeterminate.

“He used her and abused her for his own personal gratification over a long period of time,” Dewey said. “It is a very good thing that she apparently doesn’t remember any of these things, but that doesn’t take away the degree of culpability or how heinous this type of conduct was.”

Dewey noted that Moore viewed child pornography daily and his psychosexual evaluation showed Moore had an above average risk to re-offend.

Moore’s defense attorney, Neal Randall, admitted his client needs treatment and recommended a 15-year prison sentence – five years fixed with 10 years indeterminate.

“It will give him an opportunity to pay a penalty for what he’s done but also get some serious treatment with evaluations and make sure it’s sticking,” Randall said.

Before being sentenced, Moore apologized for his behavior and said he started to repent shortly after being arrested.

“I have made horrendous choices and now I must atone for those choices with horrendous consequences,” he said. “‘I’m sorry’ only goes so far. It’s like trying to fix a bullet hole with a Band-Aid. I owe a debt that can never be repaid. That is not going to stop me from trying.”

In addition to the prison sentence, Moore will be required to register as a sex offender and pay a $5,000 fine on each of the charges.

“These charges are most serious. You had thousands of images and in every one of those images there is a victim,” Watkins said. “You’ve got a lot of work to do. A lot of work. It does not get any worse.”