Howard Keith Goodson, Coercion and Enticement of a Minor, Maryland 2018

A Pennsylvania man was sentenced to 26 years in federal prison for coercion and enticement of a minor to engage in illegal sexual activity. Howard Keith Goodson, age 50, of Hatfield, Pennsylvania, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge George L. Russell, III in Baltimore, Maryland.

According to his guilty plea, in late 2016 or early 2017 Goodson met the victim, who was a 15-year-old girl in ninth grade, on a social media website where the victim hosted a blog. Goodson and the victim began communicating through the social media website, but eventually corresponded through phone calls, text messages, and a smartphone-based messaging application.

Between October 2017 and January 2018, Goodson sent a series of sexually explicit messages to the victim, including messages stating his dominance over the victim. Between January and April 2018, Goodson drove from Pennsylvania to Maryland to meet the victim on at least four occasions—at least three of which were to engage in illicit sexual conduct with the victim.

Goodson's sentence includes 26 years in federal prison, followed by lifetime supervised release. Upon his release from prison, Goodson must register as a sex offender in the places where he resides, where he is an employee, and where he is a student, under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA).

The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the HSI, the Caroline County Sheriff’s Office, Greensboro Police Department, and the Caroline County State’s Attorney’s Office for their work in the investigation and prosecution. Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeffrey J. Izant and Judson T. Mihok, who prosecuted the federal case.

Goodson was arrested on federal charges on May 4, 2018, and has been in custody since that time.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/pr/pennsylvania-man-sentenced-26-years-federal-prison-coercion-and-enticement-minor-engage