A B.C. man facing sex charges involving a 14-year-old has been arrested again after police say he posed as a young girl on Facebook to meet teenage boys.
Jeffrey Goddard, 20, was arrested by Abbotsford police early Wednesday morning after the parents of three 13-year-old boys complained that he had struck up a friendship with them in breach of his bail conditions.
Abbotsford Police Const. Ian MacDonald told ctvbc.ca that Goddard set up a Facebook account as a fictitious 15-year-old girl and introduced himself to one of the boys, whose name he had seen in a news story.
"Goddard, for whatever, reason latched onto the name," MacDonald said.
The 13-year-old boy then introduced the "girl" to two of his male friends on Facebook. Police believe the "girl" then introduced the boys to a fictional male cousin, who said he worked in commercials and could get the boys acting jobs.
"That translated to telephone conversations, and then some face-to-face meetings with Goddard," MacDonald said.
The boys' parents eventually became concerned about the friendship and contacted police Tuesday evening.
MacDonald said that Goddard is expected to be charged with breach of recognizance, but no other charges are likely. He was scheduled to appear in court Wednesday afternoon.
Parents are now being warned to pay closer attention to the relationships their children make online.
"Safeguarding your children is no longer about making sure your windows and doors are locked," MacDonald said.
In and out of police custody
Goddard was originally arrested on May 20 and charged with invitation to sexual touching involving a 14-year-old boy.
Investigators suspect that he may have used several ruses to meet up with young teens, including offering jobs in music videos, autographed Roberto Luongo jerseys and rides in police cars.
MacDonald said that several children in the Abbotsford area have reported being contacted by men making those offers.
"We can't say in each and every incident that it was definitively Mr. Goddard," MacDonald said. "But we find that some of those things are related."
Goddard has been arrested twice before for breach of recognizance. On Aug. 3 he was reportedly seen in the company of a boy at an electronics store, and later that month, staff at a recreation facility called police to say that he was swimming in a pool filled with children.
After both arrests, he was released from custody.
Police are now asking for anyone who believes they may have had a similar interaction with Goddard to call them.
"We now have evidence of at least three breaches," MacDonald said. "We can't preclude the possibility that he has done this other times."
