San Bernardino County sheriff’s sergeant arrested on suspicion of child pornography

A San Bernardino County sheriff’s sergeant was arrested Thursday on suspicion of possession and distribution of child pornography, authorities said.

Marc Goodwin, 43, was taken into custody by the Fontana Police Department’s Internet Crimes Against Children Unit after it pursued information gathered by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children alleging that Goodwin had electronically transmitted an image containing possible child pornography.

During their investigation, Fontana detectives determined Goodwin possessed and transmitted multiple images containing child porn, police officials said.

Investigators seized multiple electronic devices from Goodwin’s Fontana home, authorities said. The devices will be analyzed for additional evidence, and investigators said the examination could take several weeks.

During the last decade, Goodwin has investigated dozens of homicides in San Bernardino County, and prosecutors credit him with solving the 2015 Christmas Day killing of David “Mouse” Bustamante at the In-N-Out Burger in Hesperia.

It was also Goodwin who detailed to jurors the evidence that led them to convict a former Marine of killing two women who were found dead at a Twentynine Palms home in March 2017.

On Thursday, Fontana police labeled Goodwin an internet predator. He was booked into the West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga.

According to detectives, Goodwin transmitted the pornographic images using the email address of loweredforlife@yahoo.com.

Fontana police are asking anyone who may have received pornographic images from that email address or anyone who may have additional information to contact Det. Brad Guith at bguith@fontana.org.

The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said it is fully cooperating with the investigation.

“I find it extremely disappointing when a member of our department acts in a manner that discredits the good work being done daily by our deputies,” Sheriff John McMahon said in a tweet. “The fact that a sergeant has been arrested makes this particularly egregious because they administer supervision of line staff.”

McMahon said Goodwin “is no longer employed with the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.”