“This will never happen again”- Family of victim react to Alan Moran sentencing

35-year-old Alan Moran – the former Diamondhead city councilman accused of making sexual advancements on a 17-year-old boy – was back in Hancock County Circuit Court for his sentencing.

Two years after the crime occurred, Alan Moran has officially been sentenced on one count of exploitation and solicitation of a minor and one count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

Moran was sentenced to 15 years and 6 months suspended, with 5 years supervised release.

In total, he will serve 30 days in the Hancock County Jail. In exchange for the short sentence, Moran must register as a sex offender and delete all social media.

“While we would have liked to have seen a longer sentence, we understood the circumstances and support the decision the judge has made in this case,” said family attorney, David Baria. “My client’s primary goal was achieved here, and that was to make sure that this will never happen again to another child.”

This comes after Moran pled guilty to the two counts in exchange for leniency mere hours before the case went to trial.

Moran was also facing charges for touching a child for lustful purposes and transmitting sexual material to a minor prior to his plea.

The mother of the 17-year-old Moran made advancements on tells us why they came forward.

“I don’t have any regrets,” said the victim’s mother, Raychel Dykes. “I think we’ve came a long way. And, like I said, awareness. That’s what we’ve been after since day one. We want to protect all the children in our community.

Moving forward, the Dykes’ family hopes their son’s voice will give other victims courage to come forward.

“I hope they’re never shamed into silence,” Raychel Dykes said.

For a more in-depth look into Moran’s case and sentencing, read more here.