After pleading guilty to sexually abusing a 3-week-old baby and two girls, a serial pedophile probably thought he would receive a lighter sentence.
Pedophile who sexually abused 3-week-old baby faints in court as he hears his sentence
When Thomas Goodman, 45, of Warwick, Rhode Island, pleaded guilty to sexually abusing a newborn baby and two other children, he was prepared to serve time in prison.
What he did not expect was that the judge would factor in the likelihood that Goodman would reoffend, placing the burden of community safety on the court.
Too often we hear of batterers and rapists receiving probation or suspended sentences despite having admitted to heinous crimes against children.
Unfortunately, this often occurs when the prosecution is forced to offer the defendant a more lenient sentence in exchange for a guilty plea that would otherwise not be carried out, allowing the offender to evade justice altogether.
After pleading guilty to repeatedly sexually abusing a three-week-old baby and a pair of six-year-old girls, Goodman collapsed in the courtroom upon hearing the judge sentence him to 260 years in prison, the Providence Journal reports.
However, upon hearing his bicentennial sentence, he fell forward onto the table in the middle of the courtroom.
Even the prosecution was surprised by the sentence, as it had requested only 100 years for Goodman. However, U.S. Magistrate Judge John J.
McConnell imposed a sentence of 160 years.
McConnell handed down a sentence 160 years longer than they had requested. He explained that it was his duty as a judge to ensure that Goodman would not harm a child again.
JudgeMcConnell waited patiently for Goodman to regain consciousness before reiterating that he would never set foot outside the prison walls.
He was subsequently sentenced to eight consecutive 30-year prison terms for eight counts of child sexual exploitation.
