Northwood man pleads guilty to child porn charges

CONCORD - A Northwood man pleaded guilty in federal court on Tuesday to possession of child pornography.

According to court documents, James Goodwin, 53, was identified as a suspect in the fall of 2018 after he uploaded numerous images of child sexual abuse into a chatroom that were downloaded by a North Carolina undercover officer who was conducting an online investigation into individuals involved in the trading of illegal images of child pornography.

Forensic examinations of several of Goodwin's electronic devices revealed images depicting the sexual assaults of children.

Goodwin is scheduled to be sentenced in October.

"Protecting the innocence of children is one of the highest priorities of law enforcement," said U.S. Attorney Murray. "We work closely with our law enforcement partners to identify and prosecute those who commit crimes related to child pornography."

This matter was investigated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Georgiana L. Konesky.

In February 2006, the Department of Justice introduced Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney's Offices, 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 identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.