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A state appellate court upheld the conviction of 41 year old, Arthur Wildgoose, for sexually assualting a 12 year old girl in 2015.
Arthur Wildgoose was sentenced in 2018 to 30 years in state prison, being eligible for parole after serving 25 years under the terms of the sentence handed down by Superior Court Judge Angela Borowski, who called the crime “unthinkable”.
Wildgoose, who was a youth sports coach, was arrested in December 2015 after the victim told detectives from the Somerset County’s Sex Crimes and Child Abuse unit that Wildgoose had sexually assualted her during a sleepover in November 2015 in the basement of her Manville home.
The victims mother had met Wildgoose in December of 2014 when he was coaching youth basketball. Wildgoose eventually started dating the victim’s mother joining for Sunday family dinners and spending weekends at the victim’s home.
Wildgoose then began helping the victim with basketball and even taking her to work with him. They also spread bird seeds and apples together, to attract deer, according to court documents.
When the victim turned 12 in April 2015, Wildgoose gave her a 6 foot teddy bear sprayed with his cologne so she would not forget him.
In October of 2015, court papers say, they began exchanging text messages and he asked her to be his girlfriend.
All the while, Wildgoose pretended to have a relationship with the victim’ s mother to gain access to the victim.
At trial, the relationship was collaborated by 2,000 text messages between Wildgoose and the victim.
Texts included Wildgoose telling the victim she was beautiful and asking her to be his girlfriend , calling her baby and babe. Eventually telling the 12 yr old he loved her and wanted to have a child with her.
Wildgoose told the victim he loved her multiple times a day either in person or by text and the victim told Wildgoose the same.
According to court documents, Wildgoose began telling the victim he “wanted” her, missed her and wished they could be together more often. Wildgoose expressed to victim in text messages how it “sucks” that they cannot walk around as a couple because he would get in trouble. Wildgoose told victim, “We can’t tell anybody about this,” and “You can’t tell Mom. Don’t tell her. Like don’t tell her anything’.
Victim testified that Wildgoose instructed her every day to “delete everything,” because he knows her mom checks her phone and she would see everything that they were talking about.”
In November 2015, Wildgoose began rubbing the victims back, shoulders, arms and stomach, and kissing victim on the cheek and lips while they were alone in victim’s basement. Wildgoose told her he could go to jail if anyone found out about what he was doing with her.
Victim then developed a canker sore on her tongue when defendant simultaneously had a sore on his mouth. Victim’s mother confronted Wildgoose, asking if he had been kissing her daughter, and Wildgoose denied having done so.
Between November 12 and 13, 2015, Wildgoose and victim discussed their excitement regarding defendant’s upcoming sleepover at victims house and how they wanted to have a baby together.
Wildgoose sent a text to the victim saying:
“I really do like you. There isn’t a minute that goes by and I don’t think about you. If anything happens then it does. If we are both in the mood then it’s right. Our
child will look beautiful. I want the baby to look like you cause you are gorgeous. I just want the baby to have my last name”.
Wildgoose asked victim “How bad you want me?” to which victim responded: “Really bad.” Wildgoose then asked: “You want me in you?” to which victim responded: “‘I don’t know.” More text messages followed regarding what victims mother would say if victim became pregnant, and Wildgoose sent text messages saying: “She won’t know about the sex unless you tell her,” and “Please delete.”
Victim testified that on Friday, November 13, 2015, while Wildgoose was sleeping over at victims home with his two children, Wildgoose pulled her from the air mattress onto the futon with him and vaginally penetrated her. Victim testified that Wildgoose kissed her stomach, arms, and lips, and “then he started
taking my pants down and he grabbed my hand and put it on his penis and made me touch him. And, um, I pulled away because I didn’t want to. And then he rolled me over on to my side and then, um, he penetrated me.” She noted that her back was to him, and she knew she had been penetrated because “it was kind of like how a tampon felt. That’s how I knew his penis was in my vagina.”
Wildgoose then looked up the Plan B pill on his phone, handed his phone to victim and victim read about how Plan B is used to prevent pregnancy. Wildgoose told victim he could get it for her from a pharmacy the next day. None of the other
children stirred or awoke.
The next day, Wildgoose approached victim after her soccer game, while victims Mom was coaching on the field, and gave victim a loose pill that he told her was the Plan B pill, which victim took 2. Wildgoose sent a text message saying: “You have to let me know when you get your period.” Other text messages between
Wildgoose and victim concerning sexual behavior and defendant’s efforts to
maintain secrecy were shown to the jury.
The following month, victim approached her mother visibly upset and crying, and told her that defendant had taken her virginity. At that time, victims mother contacted the police.
In March 2016, victim attempted suicide and spent twenty-four hours in the hospital.
Wildgoose was sentenced on November 11, 2018 to a 30 year sentence with 85% parole disqualifier and a concurrent 5 year sentence for endangering welfare of a child.
Wildgoose filed for appeal on November 28, 2018 and made the following four arguments;
POINT I: THE TRIAL COURT’S FAILURE TO AMEND THE INDICTMENT AND CORRESPONDING LANGUAGE OF THE JURY
INSTRUCTIONS TO ALLEGE ONE ACT OF
SEXUAL PENETRATION ON NOVEMBER 13,
2015, COMBINED WITH THE COURT’S FAILURE
TO PROVIDE A SIMPLE AFFIRMATIVE
RESPONSE TO THE JURY’S QUESTION
WHETHER IT NEEDED TO FIND PENILE
PENETRATION TO SATISFY THE SEXUAL
PENETRATION ELEMENT OF AGGRAVATED
SEXUAL ASSAULT AND GIVING INSTEAD A RE-
INSTRUCTION ON PENETRATION WHICH
INCLUDED VARIOUS SEXUAL INSERTIONS
THAT WERE NOT IN EVIDENCE, IMPERMISSIBLY POSED A DANGER OF A VERDICT BASED ON SPECULATION AS TO WHEN AND WHAT TYPE OF PENETRATION WAS COMMITTED INSTEAD OF ON THE EVIDENCE PRESENTED.
POINT II: THE TRIAL COURT PLAINLY ERRED IN NOT INSTRUCTING THE JURY SUA SPONTE THAT IT NEEDED TO CONSIDER SECOND DEGREE SEXUAL ASSAULT AS A LESSER-INCLUDED OFFENSE OF AGGRAVATED SEXUAL ASSAULT. (NOT RAISED BELOW)
POINT III: THE PROSECUTOR ENGAGED IN MISCONDUCT ON SUMMATION WHICH DEPRIVED MR. WILDGOOSE OF A FAIR TRIAL.
POINT IV: MR. WILDGOOSE’S SENTENCE WAS MANIFESTLY EXCESSIVE AND MUST THEREFORE BE VACATED.
A state appelate court reviewed all appeals and came to the conclusion that the sentence would be up held.
Wildgoose’s current parole eigibility date: is October 21, 2042.
My opinion, until Wildgoose confuses to this egregious crime and and addresses his pedophilic disorder and gets help, he should remain confined in prison, where another child can’t be hurt.