Jacob Rudolph Goeckeritz booking photo from the Cache County Jail.
LOGAN — A 31-year-old Murray man has been sentenced to three months in jail for sexting with a teenage girl in Cache Valley two years ago. Jacob Rudolph Goeckeritz told the court he was sorry, before being ordered to report to the Cache County Jail by June 1.
Goeckeritz was sentenced Wednesday morning in 1st District Court. He previously accepted a plea deal, pleading guilty to sexual exploitation of a minor, a second-degree felony.
According to prosecutors, the Logan City Police Department received a CyberTip from Facebook in March 2021. The social media company reported Goeckeritz had 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 to be booked on the alleged offenses. The defendant reportedly never showed up.
Goeckeritz was later arrested on a warrant in April 2021. He was booked into jail and released on $10,000 bail.
During Wednesday’s sentencing, defense attorney Joseph Jardine described how Goeckeritz was mentally lower functioning and very naive, due partly to being home schooled as a child. He asked the court to consider home confinement instead of jail, explaining that putting his client behind bars “might ruin him.”
Goeckeritz said it made him disgusted with himself, thinking about what he did to the victim. He wished that he could take back his actions.
Judge Brian Cannell said what happened was horrendous and the harm caused to the victim couldn’t be minimized. He sentenced the defendant to 90 days in jail, saying the incarceration was warranted.
Goeckeritz was also ordered to pay a $1,000 fine, be placed on the sex-offender registry, and continue counseling and treatment.