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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
Oct. 6, 2008
PAOLA MAN GETS 15+ YEARS IN FEDERAL CHILD PORN CASE
KANSAS CITY,KAN. – A Paola, Kan., man who has been a registered sex offender since 2002 was sentenced to 188 months in federal prison, U.S. Attorney Eric Melgren announced Monday.
Sterling Goddard, 49, was sentenced Monday at a hearing before U.S. District Judge Carlos Murguia in Kansas City, Kan.
In March 2008, Goddard pleaded guilty to one count of possessing child pornography and one count of distributing child pornography. According to court documents, the FBI began the investigation in February 2004 by accessing various Yahoo! groups dedicated to sharing child pornography. Goddard was identified as a member of one such group called “lisas_flower_basket.” Over a period of months, Goddard received and distributed hundreds of images of child pornography in exchanges via the Internet with child pornographers from around the world.
During sentencing, the government urged Judge Murguia to take into account the fact that Goddard was convicted in 2002 on a charge of promoting obscenity to a minor. In that case, Goddard was convicted of coercing two 6-year-old girls to watch pornographic films with him. As a result, he was required to register as a sex offender. The KBI’s sex offender registry is available online at www.accesskansas.org/kbi
Melgren commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kim Martin for their work in the case. This case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov