Goldey v. State

Pursuant to a jury trial, Howard Goldey, Sr., was convicted of child molestation, enticing a child for indecent purposes and exhibiting pornography to a minor. Goldey appeals, challenging the admission of evidence of a catheter found in his home and the effectiveness of his trial counsel. The challenges are without merit, and we therefore affirm Goldey’s convictions. Viewed in favor of the verdict,1 the evidence presented at trial shows that in 2003, the 73-year-old Goldey and his wife lived next door to a seven-year-old girl and her parents. The girl often went to Goldey’s home, where he allowed her to play on a computer and watch television in his bedroom. Goldey gave the child gifts, including candy, jewelry and a cell phone. He and the girl communicated through notes and other items left in a birdhouse located between their houses. The notes were often written in a secret code whereby numbers were substituted for letters.

Goldey paid the girl to stand in her bedroom window either naked or in her underwear, giving her two dollars if he saw her nude and one dollar if he saw her in her underwear. He once showed her a movie in his bedroom which depicted a woman performing oral sex on a man. On more than one occasion, Goldey touched the girl between her legs, underneath her clothing and underwear. He asked her to touch him between the legs, but she refused.