An Orange County man accused of impersonating a police officer and fondling two women in separate incidents in the Hollywood area was charged Thursday with three felonies and three misdemeanors.
Joseph Christoph Moore, 39, of Anaheim, faces one count each of assault with intent to commit a felony, criminal threats and false imprisonment by violence, along with two misdemeanor counts of unlawful use of a badge and a misdemeanor count of sexual battery.
He was expected to be arraigned this afternoon in downtown Los Angeles, but details of the hearing were not immediately available.
Moore was arrested Tuesday and was being held in lieu of $1 million bail.
According to police, Moore approached the first alleged victim in the 6100 block of De Longpre Avenue on Nov. 24 as she was searching for her keys. He produced a badge and identification, told the victim to get against a wall and then searched her while fondling her breasts and buttocks, police said.
He then pulled a handgun from his waistband and warned the woman that he would shoot her if she screamed, then fled, according to police.
On Nov. 30, he allegedly followed a woman into her parking area in the 500 block of Kingsley Drive in East Hollywood. He pressed a badge against her car’s driver-side window and told the woman her registration was expired, police said. He ordered the woman out of the vehicle and had her open the trunk, saying he needed to search for weapons.
The man then ordered the woman against a wall for a pat-down search, during which he fondled her inner thighs and buttocks several times, according to police. The victim said she believed the suspect had a gun holster on his hip.
Police had circulated security video footage in hopes that someone would recognize the man, resulting in “numerous tips and information received from community members” that led detectives to identify Moore as the suspect, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
If convicted as charged, he faces up to life in prison, prosecutors said.
— Wire reports