Jacob Rudolph Goeckeritz booking photo from the Cache County Jail.
LOGAN — A 31-year-old Murray man has waived his rights to a fair trial and admitted to enticing a teenage girl in Cache Valley. Jacob Rudolph Goeckeritz accepted a plea deal and will now wait to be sentenced.
According to court records, Goeckeritz appeared last Wednesday in 1st District Court. He pleaded guilty to sexual exploitation of a minor, a second-degree felony. As part of the plea agreement, prosecutors dismissed five similar charges.
According to prosecutors, the Logan City Police Department received a CyberTip from Facebook in March 2021. The social media company reported Goeckeritz had allegedly engaged in inappropriate messages with a 15-year-old girl. The chats included pictures of the girl in various stages of undress and naked.
A detective reviewed the chat log between the two individuals. During the messages, Goeckeritz reportedly acknowledged to knowing the 15-year-old was nearly half his age.
As the messages continued, Goeckeritz discussed driving to the Logan area to have sex with the girl. He later stated that he didn’t want to get “locked up” for talking to her.
Police called Goeckeritz and questioned him about the messages. The defendant stated he was “just talking” to the girl. He wouldn’t provide any explanation as to why he was talking to her, or why the chats were sexual in nature.
The detective asked to meet Goeckeritz at the Cache County Jail on April 7, to be booked on the alleged offences. The suspect reportedly never showed up.
Goeckeritz was arrested on a warrant in April 2021. He was booked into the Cache County Jail and later released on $10,000 bail.
Goeckeritz’s case was scheduled for a three-day jury trial in February. With last week’s plea deal, the trial was cancelled. He is scheduled to be sentenced in March, when he could face up to 15 years in prison.
will@cvradio.com