Man Admits Raping Boys Prosecutor To Seek 17-Year Term For Rape, Molestation Charges

A former cable TV repairman admitted Friday that he raped and molested boys for more than seven years in his north Spokane neighborhood.

Prosecutors say they will seek a 17-year prison term when William Clark Goodfellow is sentenced in March.

With one victim watching nervously, Goodfellow quietly pleaded guilty in Spokane County Superior Court to two counts each of child rape and child molestation.

He had sex or committed sex acts with four boys, ages 9 to 13, in his well-kept home, two blocks from Shadle Park High School, between 1990 and his arrest in October 1997.

Goodfellow, 51, also pleaded guilty to three counts of possessing an extensive collection of child pornography, including videotapes of himself with the boys.

The victim watching from the gallery turned Goodfellow in to police.

“I’m angry with him because of all the other people he’s done this to,” said the boy, who was 13 when Goodfellow raped him.

“To him, it was something normal, like going to work.”

The boy’s father said Goodfellow’s heart has “turned very cold.”

Three felony charges initially filed in the case - including more child-porn allegations - were dropped as part of the plea bargain.

Goodfellow was convicted in Spokane County in 1976 of indecent liberties for his relationship with a 10-year-old boy.

Despite the earlier conviction, prosecutors agreed to not seek an exceptional sentence or request federal charges against Goodfellow for printing child-porn photos off the Internet.

Police found more than 2,600 sexually explicit photos stashed in his closet - some showing young boys and girls - as well as videos and an extensive collection of pornographic magazines.

“He knows or feels that his problem is like a disease, is hard or impossible to cure,” wrote police investigators after interviewing the defendant.

Deputy Prosecutor Patti Connolly Walker said the plea agreement protected the boys from having to testify at a trial. “We definitely wanted to make it as easy as possible on the victims,” she said.

Authorities suspect there were more victims, but the plea bargain officially ended the investigation.

Goodfellow’s attorney, Tracy Collins, said his client felt “genuine concern” for the victims.

“I think he feels responsible; like he feels he’s caused innocent people pain that needs to be rectified in any way possible,” the defense lawyer said.

According to court documents, Goodfellow lured youths to his North Walnut home by offering fishing trips and access to the Internet.

Neighbors saw kids coming and going. Some of the youths did yard work for Goodfellow.

Inside, the gray-haired man used pornographic photos and videos to groom the youths for sex.

The victim who showed up in court said he lived with Goodfellow as a runaway. Goodfellow offered clothes, alcohol and no rules - freedom the boy craved.

“He was baiting me with all this stuff,” the boy said.

One night, Goodfellow invited the boy to watch a pornographic video and initiated sexual contact, the youth said.

The boy said other victims “came and went,” including two brothers. After three weeks, the boy decided to tell a counselor about Goodfellow last October.

The decision was painful because Goodfellow had acted at times like a caring grandfather.

After hearing the guilty pleas, the boy admitted having mixed emotions.

“I feel good and bad. I feel good that he would admit to what he did. I feel bad, because I’m the one that turned him in.”

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