A Bradley County pastor accused of possessing child sexual abuse materials has been found not guilty following a two-day trial that concluded Thursday.
Calvary Baptist Church Pastor Rocky Goodwin was acquitted of all charges after jurors returned a unanimous verdict in his favor, ending a case that had drawn significant community attention since his arrest in August 2024.
The trial began Wednesday and concluded the following day with closing arguments from both sides. Prosecutors presented digital evidence they said linked Goodwin to the possession and distribution of illegal material, while the defense maintained that the files were the result of malware or a computer virus that had infected his device.
Throughout the trial, defense attorneys argued that no direct proof tied Goodwin to the intentional download or distribution of the material. Prosecutors countered by pointing to what they described as clear audio and visual evidence discovered during the investigation.
Following the verdict, members of Goodwin’s family expressed relief and said they were choosing not to focus on who may have been responsible for the files that appeared on his computer.
Goodwin was initially arrested by Arkansas State Police on charges of distributing, possessing, or viewing matter depicting sexually explicit conduct involving a child. According to court documents, multiple cyber tips were sent to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in 2023, prompting an investigation.
That investigation led to a search warrant executed on May 3, 2024, at Goodwin’s home. Investigators said they seized several electronic devices, including laptops and hard drives, and reported discovering a compressed zip file labeled with language referencing a “12-year-old girl.”
Court records stated that investigators found 47 Category 1 images and 24 Category 2 images of child sexual abuse material during their analysis — evidence that ultimately led to Goodwin’s arrest on August 15, 2024.
