FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — A former East Point police officer convicted of sexual assault while on duty will learn how long he will spend in prison.
Richard Gooddine was accused of using his badge and authority to sexually assault women, including a 15-year-old girl. A jury found him guilty on all charges in his second trial.
Gooddine’s sentencing is set for Tuesday morning at the Fulton County courthouse. The state wants life plus 70 years. The defense is asking for 25 years.
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Channel 2’s Tyisha Fernandes covered Gooddine’s retrial from opening statements until a verdict was reached.
Part of the state’s closing argument was Gooddine preyed on victims who were troubled, like the 15-year-old who admitted to experimenting with drugs and fighting with her family.
Prosecutors says he also chose a woman who he arrested for shoplifting and already had a record. They say he assaulted her in the backseat of his patrol car.
“The evidence has shown he didn’t target them by accident because, for Gooddine, their very vulnerabilities are why he targeted them,” Assistant District Attorney Julianna Peterson said.
They pointed to surveillance video that they say shows Gooddine arrived at the hospital in uniform. He arrived less than 10 minutes after the victim arrived to report that she’d had been assaulted by him.
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Defense attorneys say he was only there to use the restroom after nurses and security told him to leave.
“If the only reason why Gooddine was there was to use the bathroom, why didn’t he leave?” Peterson said. “Because that’s not why he was there.”
The defense argued the case lacked evidence.
“When you apply the principles of reasonable doubt, the evidence in this case, the state’s case falls apart. It does not become clear,” defense attorney Amanda Clark-Palmer said.
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