Former Springfield YMCA Employee Indicted for Child Pornography

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Tom Larson, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that a former Springfield YMCA employee has been indicted by a federal grand jury for receiving and distributing child pornography over the Internet.

Benjamin Goodwin, 28, of Springfield, was charged in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Springfield on Tuesday, Aug. 15, 2017. Goodwin, an employee of the Springfield YMCA at the time of the offense, was arrested this morning.

The federal indictment alleges that Goodwin received and distributed child pornography over the Internet between June 11, 2016, and Aug. 3, 2017.

Larson cautioned that the charge contained in this indictment is simply an accusation, and not evidence of guilt.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney James J. Kelleher. It was investigated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Southwest Missouri Cybercrimes Task Force.

Project Safe Childhood

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc . For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."