A convicted child molester was given a sweetheart plea deal of only two years in jail, ensuring he'll be back on the streets with time served in two months—and this was even after he professed his love to one of his teenage victims in court. Andrew Goodman, 27, admitted to sexually abusing two Orthodox brothers in Flatbush for four years, starting when they were 12 and 13. Even the victim's testimony didn't change the sentencing: “Letting this man go is a very grave mistake," said one victim, now 17. “I have no doubt he'll try to do the same thing to other children once he gets out."
Goodman, who worked for Jewish social-service agencies, previously pleaded guilty to 48 felonies, “even more than Jerry Sandusky,” as that victim pointed out. Among other things, he filmed sex acts with the boys on a webcam. The victim described how Goodman earned his trust by buying him gifts, taking him to restaurants, and pressured him into having sex. "You are the worst thing that ever happened to me," he said. "You are the devil disguised as a human."
When Goodman finally got up to speak, he told the victim, "I love you" as the courtroom gasped. "I did and still do to this day love [you]," he added. "I fell in love with you and I wish I never allowed my sexual desires to get in the way of what I valued more, which is your friendship."
“You caused a lot of pain to all the complainants," he told Goodman. "The statements that you made today are ill-advised to say the least." And yet, Supreme Court Justice Martin Murphy gave Goodman the minimum allowable sentence, without explanation. The Post was outraged, and so was Assemblyman Steven Cymbrowitz, who sent a letter to the judge before yesterday's court date demanding a tougher sentence. His words fell on deaf ears:
Your judgment can provide some degree of closure to this terrible episode, or it can leave a raw, open wound from which the victims may never heal. Your judgment can demonstrate an unshakable commitment to protect the rights of victims, especially the most vulnerable, or it can extend mercy to an offender whose heinous acts are, frankly, beyond our comprehension.
