SACRAMENTO - U.S. District Judge Morrison C. England Jr. sentenced Derek Swede Godfrey, 49, formerly of Rocklin, to eight years and one month in prison for possession of child pornography, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced. According to court documents, in October 5, 2006, law enforcement agents executed a search warrant at Godfrey’s home in Rocklin.
On his computer, agents located more than 400 videos and 5,000 still images depicting the sexual abuse and exploitation of minors. The day after, Godfrey, a youth gymnastics coach, left the United States for the Netherlands where he had dual-citizenship. On January 25, 2007, a grand jury in Sacramento indicted Godfrey, charging him with one count of possession of child pornography.
In 2012, Godfrey was located in Perth, Australia, where he was once again found to be coaching children’s gymnastics. At that time, Australian authorities arrested Godfrey on charges unrelated to the charges in the United States. In April 2016, Australian authorities agreed to extradite Godfrey to the United States to face the charges pending in Sacramento.
In sentencing Godfrey, Judge England observed that he was particularly troubled by the fact that Godfrey had fled the United States after his crime was detected in 2007, and that Godfrey had been caught with child pornography in Australia in 2012 while his charges in the United States were pending.
This case was the product of an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew G. Morris prosecuted the case.
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 those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. Click on the “resources” tab for information about internet safety education.
