ALEXANDRIA, VA – The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has affirmed the dismissal of a federal and state malicious prosecution lawsuit filed by John Scott Moretti, a former State Department official who was arrested in 2020 on child sexual abuse charges but later had those charges dropped.
According to court documents, Moretti had been indicted in Virginia on charges including forcible sodomy and indecent liberties with a child after a juvenile, identified as Jane Doe, accused him of sexually abusing her years earlier while she was visiting his home to play with his daughter. The investigation was initiated by the Prince William County Police Department after the juvenile disclosed the alleged abuse to her therapist while in residential treatment in 2019.
Detective Helga Thorsdottir, the named defendant in the civil lawsuit, led the investigation. She obtained multiple written statements from Doe, conducted forensic interviews, and interviewed Doe’s parents and therapists. A search warrant of Moretti’s home led to the seizure of several devices and a handgun, although no child sexual abuse material was found.
Moretti was arrested in May 2020, but in January 2022, prosecutors dropped the charges. The Commonwealth’s Attorney cited new evidence—including 2018 messages in which Doe named a different individual as her abuser—and Doe’s decision not to proceed with prosecution.
Following the dismissal, Moretti filed a civil lawsuit in 2023 alleging malicious prosecution and constitutional violations under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The district court dismissed the complaint, ruling that Moretti failed to plausibly allege a lack of probable cause. The Fourth Circuit affirmed, concluding that the police investigation supported a reasonable belief that a crime had occurred and that Moretti was a probable suspect.
In a concurring opinion, Judge Thacker criticized the government’s attempt at oral argument to blame the case dismissal solely on the alleged victim’s reluctance to testify. Thacker emphasized that prosecutors themselves had cited new evidence undermining the original case, which led them to determine they could no longer meet the burden of proof.
The Fourth Circuit also addressed the terminology used in the underlying proceedings, endorsing the shift away from the phrase “child pornography” in favor of the more accurate term “child sexual abuse material,” which reflects the criminal nature and trauma associated with such offenses.
The case is Moretti v. Thorsdottir, No. 23-1547.
