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Paola man gets 15 years for child pornography
A 49-year-old Paola man was sentenced to 15 years and 8 months in federal prison for child pornography Monday before a U.S. district judge in Kansas City, Kan.
Sterling Goddard pleaded guilty in March to one count of possessing child pornography and one count of distributing it.
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, and 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 Carlos 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, according to a news release. As a result, he was required to register as a sex offender.
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Sterling Goddard pleaded guilty in March to one count of possessing child pornography and one count of distributing it.
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, and 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 Carlos 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, according to a news release. As a result, he was required to register as a sex offender.