Posted at 4:30 p.m., Monday, April 30, 2007
Man pleads not guilty to Internet predator charge
Advertiser Staff
WAILUKU, Maui — A Honolulu man was arraigned today on charges that he allegedly engaged in online sex chats with someone he believed was a 13-year-old girl and then arranged to meet her on Maui.Matthew S. Goodman, 28, who owns a computer business, pleaded not guilty to two counts of first-degree electronic enticement of a child. Second Circuit Judge Joel August scheduled a bail hearing for Wednesday and set Goodman's trial for July 2. The defendant remains in custody, with bail set at $1 million.
Goodman was arrested Wednesday at Kalama Park in Kihei after allegedly arranging to meet his online chat partner, said Maui police Lt. John Jakubczak. Goodman reportedly had been in contact with the girl over an eight-month period, Jakubczak said.
He would not say whether the case was generated by a sting operation set up to catch Internet predators, explaining only that the investigation resulted from monitoring of Internet chat rooms.
