Appeals court rejects claim of Las Vegas child pornographer

By Cy Ryan

Thursday, April 29, 2010 | 4:58 p.m.

CARSON CITY – A federal appeals court has rejected the claim of a Las Vegas child pornographer that he was illegally punished twice for violating his parole.

The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals turned down the petition of Mark Moor, sentenced in 1994 to a life term in prison with the possibility of parole after five years.

In 2000, he was freed from prison but two years later he was arrested for violating the terms of his parole. The state Parole Board decided it would not consider another plea for release until 2005.

The board rejected his application for freedom in 2005 and Moor was told to wait another three years before reapplying.

Moor, now 50, contends his was subject to double jeopardy, being punished when his parole was revoked in 2002 and again in 2005 when his application for release was rejected.

The appeals court said the double jeopardy clause in the U.S. Constitution protects only against the imposition of multiple criminal punishments for the same offense. The revocation of his parole is not a criminal punishment.

Moor is still in prison and his request for parole in 2008 was denied by the state board.