CITIZEN STAFF REPORT

LONDON — A former middle school teacher and basketball coach was sentenced Tuesday to more than 20 years in federal prison for the online enticement of a minor.

William Goodson, 32, of Antioch, Tennessee, was sentenced to 246 months by U.S. District Judge Claria Horn Boom.

According to his plea agreement, Goodson engaged in an illicit relationship with a minor from August 2023 through February 2024 while he was a teacher at South Laurel Middle School.

Prosecutors said he sent sexually explicit messages to the victim via text and Snapchat, communicated daily and provided gifts. When questioned by law enforcement, Goodson likened his interactions with the minor to a dating relationship. He ultimately persuaded the victim to engage in inappropriate sexual contact multiple times inside his classroom.

Under federal law, Goodson must serve at least 85% of his sentence before becoming eligible for release. Upon his release, he will remain under federal supervision for 20 years.

Carlton S. Shier, IV, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky; Michael Stansbury, Special Agent in Charge, FBI, Louisville Field Office; and Chief Jerry Hollon, London Police Department, jointly announced the sentence.

The FBI and the London Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Blankenship prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office prosecuted this case as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit projectsafechildhood.gov.