District attorney disputes gym school owner’s letter
BY SHAUN LOCKHART : The Herald-Sun
slockhart@heraldsun.com
Jan 30, 2005 : 8:36 pm ET
ROXBORO – A letter that gymnastics school owner Condary “Kent” Godwin Jr. recently sent parents describing his plea in a criminal case involving a female student misrepresented the facts, Person County District Attorney Joel Brewer said. Godwin and his wife, Terri, run the Academy of Gymnastics & Martial Arts, 145 Wesleyan Road. Last month the 43-year-old Godwin pleaded guilty in Person County Court to taking indecent liberties with a minor, according to a transcript of the plea.
In the letter to parents, the Godwins said Kent Godwin had reached an “Alford plea.” Under an Alford plea, a person is treated as guilty whether or not the person admits he is guilty. “With this plea he did NOT plead guilty or admit guilt,” the letter continued. "The agreement did have a standard probationary period that Mr. Godwin would have to complete. "
Brewer said the Godwins’ letter is incorrect.
“The letter he sent out is entirely misleading,” Brewer said. “He did indeed plead guilty.” The transcript of Godwin’s plea includes two questions: “Do you understand that you are pleading (guilty) (no contest)?” and “Do you now personally plead (guilty) (no contest)…” In both cases, a line runs through the words no contest and Godwin answered yes.
Brewer said he also wouldn’t call Godwin’s probation “standard.”
As part of his guilty plea Godwin had to register as a sex offender in the county where he resides, Orange, and abide by the conditions of a “Sex Offender Control Program.” He was also prohibited from lingering, loitering or spending time where people under 18 years old are likely to be present, unless he is in the presence of another adult. Although Godwin entered an Alford plea, it is still a guilty plea, Brewer said. “He’s saying he didn’t do it,” the district attorney said of the letter.
If Godwin wanted to prove his innocence, “he should have plead[ed] not guilty and asked for a jury trial,” Brewer said. “If he wanted to remain low profile about this, he went about it the wrong way by distorting what the court did and what he did do.” In a telephone interview, Godwin said he was trying to be honest with others. He said it was his understanding that his plea was not an admission of guilt. “It was one person’s word against another,” Godwin said, adding that he agreed to the plea on the advice of his attorney.
Brewer said that, according to court documents, Godwin put his hand under the bra and on the buttocks of the 15-year-old girl on two occasions.
Even before the plea, the Godwins established a policy prohibiting staff members from being alone with a minor student at the gymnastics school, Godwin said. He said the whole situation has been hard for him both personally and professionally, explaining that some parents have removed their children from the school but most have stayed. “They believe in us; they know we always do the right thing,” he said. “That’s why we did the letter. We weren’t trying to hide anything.” Brewer declined to say if the letter itself, which was distributed in late December, broke any laws, but said he sent a copy to Godwin’s probation officer.
“There is no question that this child was taken advantage of,” Brewer said of the 15-year-old victim. “He took advantage of a position of trust.”