A comedian from the North who made jokes about child abuse has been unmasked as a paedophile who paid to watch kids being sexually abused online.
Eamon Goodfellow, 50 and originally from Co Armagh, has been convicted of “paying for and directing the sexual abuse of children” in the Philippines and Romania, according to a statement issued by the National Crime Agency.
Goodfellow, who had been living in St Albans in England, had performed as a comic at the Edinburgh Fringe. The NCA issued details of his conviction last month, however the fact he is from Northern Ireland and had performed as a comedian only emerged over recent days.
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The NCA said the sex offender was arrested by its officers on June 14, 2018 and all of his electronic devices seized for analysis.
A spokesman added: “A number of chat logs were recovered which showed Goodfellow discussing the abuse of children with facilitators, one of whom was based in the Philippines and the other in Romania.
“In the chats, Goodfellow was shown to be actively seeking children under 13-years-old. When a child at the right age was identified, he would direct the facilitators to perform certain sexual acts on the children with a view to live-streaming the offending.
“Evidence showed that he sent payment to the facilitators to carry out the abuse.”
Goodfellow was found guilty of two counts of attempting to cause the sexual exploitation of a child under 13 at St Albans Crown Court on April 12 following a six day trial. He will be sentenced at the same court on 31 May.
In a Mirror Online report it states that video clips of the the sex offender’s comedy shows him joking about another young comedian being too ugly for “child-molesting Moors murderers” Myra Hindley and Ian Brady.
It adds that in another clip he makes a joke about Goldilocks being in the train toilet with one of the three bears. He was a runner-up in the 2019 New Act of the Year Final.
Martin Ludlow from the National Crime Agency said: “Goodfellow made it very clear that he has sexual interest in young children in these chat logs.
“He attempted to arrange for the most horrific abuse of vulnerable children thousands of miles away from him for his own gratification.
“He was helped by facilitators whose motive is to make money. This kind of financially-driven offending is a key threat to the UK.
“The NCA works with international law enforcement partners to safeguard children, identify and disrupt those willing to fund and carry out this abuse. In the Philippines the NCA has an excellent relationship and actively supports the work of the Philippine Internet Crimes Against Children Centre (PICACC).”
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