Comedian Eamon Goodfellow was sentenced to over four years in prison for attempting to watch the sexual abuse of minors online, five years after he was arrested. Goodfellow allegedly paid fixers in the Philippines and Romania to arrange the abuse of a 7-year-old and an 8-year-old while he watched from his home, U.K. prosecutors said. The comedian, originally from Northern Ireland, reportedly joked about pedophilia, incest, and pornography before his arrest.
Goodfellow allegedly contacted the “fixers” in the Philippines and Romania in 2017. The National Crime Agency (NCA) arrested Goodfellow in June 2018 at his home in St Albans after investigators found evidence of his payments to view the heinous content, reports Sunday World. He was found guilty of two counts of attempting to cause the sexual exploitation of a child under 13 in St Albans Crown Court on April 12. On June 30, he was sentenced to four years and nine months in prison. He will also be a registered sex offender for the rest of his life and is subject to the 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order.
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The comedian “made it very clear that he has [a] sexual interest in young children” according to the communication police obtained, Martin Ludlow of the NCA said after Goodfellow’s sentencing. “He attempted to arrange for the most horrific abuse of vulnerable children thousands of miles away from him for his own gratification,” Ludlow said. “He was helped by facilitators whose motive is to make money. This kind of financially-driven offending is a key threat to the U.K.”
During the investigation, authorities discovered Goodfellow used a laptop and an iPhone to arrange the abuse of minors. The negotiations fell apart before the children could be abused, but the NCA became aware of the communication. His chats showed he wanted to see children under 13 years old.
Before he was arrested, Goodfellow ran comedy nights in Nantwich, Cheshire. He joked about pedophilia, incest, and pornography in his work. He also made jokes about a young comedian being too ugly for Ian Brady and Myra Hindley, whom he referred to as “child molesting Moors murderers.”
Goodfellow also worked for the lottery firm Camelot. “We were unaware of the charges until the conviction. We immediately suspended the employee and the matter is subject to Camelot’s internal disciplinary process,” the company told Sunday World.
Before his sentencing, Goodfellow’s attorney, Adam King, said the comedian was lonely after moving from Northern Ireland to England and struggled to make romantic connections. He argued that if pornography was not widely available online, his client might not have gone on a “dark path,” but admitted, “here he is today.” King said Goodfellow was estranged from his friends and “half of his family” after he was arrested and will not have work after he leaves prison.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, you can contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.
