Skip to content

Jeffrey Goddard sentenced to 180 days in jail

The Abbotsford man was charged after breaching his conditions by posing online as a landscaper and hiring two teen boys.
64961abbotsfordJeffGoddard
Jeffrey Goddard

Convicted online predator Jeffrey Goddard of Abbotsford admitted he was unable to manage his behavior and was at risk of re-offending if he owned a cellphone.

The statements, made to his probation officer, were included in a pre-sentence report that was referenced by Judge Brent Hoy on Thursday in Abbotsford provincial court.

Hoy also cited the probation officer as saying that Goddard's "lack of honesty and integrity make it a challenge for any meaningful intervention."

Hoy sentenced Goddard, 22, to 180 days in prison for his latest set of charges – two breaches of probation, to which he previously pleaded guilty.

He was given credit for the 168 days he had already spent in custody, leaving him with 12 more days of jail time.

The breaches occurred about six months after Goddard was released from prison. He served a 20-month sentence for invitation to sexual touching, communicating via a computer to lure a child, impersonating a police officer, and two charges of breaching his bail conditions.

From January to October 2010, he contacted eight youths over social media and on the phone, posing as a teenage girl, a TV producer and a police officer offering rides in a patrol car.

The court-ordered conditions of his release included that he have no contact with anyone under the age of 18, not use any electronic device that can access the Internet, and not establish or maintain any social networking website.

Goddard was arrested and charged last August after the Abbotsford Police Department was notified that Goddard had again established an online alias.

This time, he posed as a landscaper named "Ryan Martin Stewart" and hired two teenage boys to do maintenance work at his Abbotsford residence – a home he shared with several other tenants, including convicted sex offender Donald Bakker.

The teens worked at the home for about a week and would have lunch in Goddard's bedroom, where they observed him using a computer and accessing sites such as Facebook, YouTube and Skype.

Investigators later confirmed that Goddard had been communicating with a 15-year-old boy – or boys – in Florida and California. In one case, Goddard was making arrangements to meet up with the teen in Los Angeles.

In sentencing Goddard to the maximum length recommended by the Crown, Hoy said he had considered several aggravating factors. These included Goddard's "blatant non-compliance" with the terms of his probation and that he re-offended only a few months after his release from prison.

It is not yet been determined where Goddard will reside after his release, but the location must be approved by his probation officer, and it will likely be in Abbotsford.

The conditions of his release remain the same as his previous ones, except that the age limit of whom he can have contact with has been lowered to 16 and under.

His lawyer, David Gable, said Goddard has acknowledged that he needs treatment and counselling, particularly as it relates to his sexual-identity issues.



Vikki Hopes

About the Author: Vikki Hopes

I have been a journalist for almost 40 years, and have been at the Abbotsford News since 1991.
Read more