Counter-security officer James Christopher Goodall jailed over sexually exploitative online conduct with a child

A counter-terrorism officer has been jailed over years long sexually exploitative online conduct with a 13-year-old girl before he joined the Australian Federal Police.

Former sworn AFP officer James Christopher Goodall, 29, pleaded guilty to using a carriage serviced to procure a person under 16.

A counter-terrorism officer has been jailed over years long sexually exploitative online conduct with a child before he joined the Australian Federal Police.

Former sworn AFP officer James Christopher Goodall, 29, pleaded guilty to using a carriage serviced to procure a person under 16 to engage in sexual activity, using a carriage service to cause child pornography material to be transmitted to self and using a carriage service to cause child abuse material to be transmitted to self.

The offending conduct occurred from August 2017 to August 2020 starting when Goodall, who had no prior criminal history, was aged 21 and the victim was 13. Months after the offending ceased he was accepted into the AFP.

The two met online and started a friendship that soon turned highly sexualised with Goodall requesting videos from the victim that included her naked and performing sexual acts.

Brisbane’s District Court heard he made the victim promise that it was kept private between themselves and that she could not tell anyone else.

Goodall also created a twisted “point system” that scored different types of explicit material.

“You made sure that she owed you a lot of points so that she would send a lot of sexualised material,” Judge Brad Farr said at Wednesday’s sentence hearing.

Just before she turned 15 the girl revealed she was actually a year younger than she had earlier told Goodall.

Former Australian Federal Police officer James Christopher Goodall fronting court last year. Picture: NewsWire

He requested she delete that message and the offending continued, the court heard.

“A friendship I believed was special, exclusive and secret turned out to be something far darker,” the girl said in a victim impact statement read to court by Commonwealth prosecutor Daniel Trigger.

“I formed a dependency on his validation …. I tried to meet his expectations in ways no child should be made to feel responsible for.

“He took years from me, years I should have spent learning who I was, building real friendships and figuring out my dreams.”

Barrister Mark McCarthy, KC, sought to distinguish his client’s offending from that of someone who sets out with purely predatory intentions.

He said Goodall had demonstrated a serious error of judgment in choosing to re-engage and reoffend during the period.

A psychological report said Goodall had reasonable insight into his offending “and appeared motivated to address these deviant behaviours and thought processes”.

The court heard he became a sworn officer with the AFP in June 2021 and was quickly moved into the counter-terrorism division.

Judge Farr said “categorically” there was a controlling aspect to the relationship on Goodall’s part on occasions.

“There can be no doubt whatsoever that your behaviour to the complainant corrupted her, and that it involved sexual exploitation on your part,” he said.

“The effect of your behaviour on the complainant has been extreme.”

Goodall was sentenced to three years and six months with a non-parole period of nine months.

Originally published as Counter-security officer James Christopher Goodall jailed over sexually exploitative online conduct with a child