A Prineville youth pastor is on house arrest while awaiting trial in a federal child pornography case.

Christopher David Goodman was arrested in January as part of a larger effort by federal agents taking on a national child-porn distribution ring based on the East Coast.

Though police found no incriminating images on his phone or computer, Goodman allegedly admitted to sending and receiving child pornography via the Mega app and Kik messenger, according to court records.

At the time of his arrest, Goodman, 36, was employed as a youth minister at Redmond Church of Christ. 

Goodman now faces two charges in U.S. District Court in Eugene: distributing child pornography and accessing child pornography with intent to view. Both counts call for prison terms of five to 10 years.

A search warrant request and statement of probable cause outline the government’s case against Goodman.

On Nov. 5, the Randolph County (North Carolina) Sheriff’s Office raided the home of Kevin Lee Nunn, now charged with 10 counts of child exploitation.

Searches of Nunn’s cellphone and hard drives revealed he was active trading images he produced using the Kik messenger app and the cloud storage provider Mega.

For several days, police monitored a chatroom titled, “Trade links,” which they say, “served no other purpose than distributing child pornography.”

“In one instance, a user posted a photograph of a naked baby and claimed that the baby was his ‘niece,'” wrote special agent Clinton Lindsly in a search warrant request.

Federal officials identified 63 users in the “Trade links” message board, including one, “Eli Yensid,” whose IP address traced to a one-story duplex in Prineville. “Eli Yensid” traded links almost daily since creating his account in February 2021 until it was decommissioned in November, according to court records.

Federal agents in Oregon learned the occupant of the duplex was a youth pastor named Chris Goodman, who lived with his wife and young child.

A judge signed a request to search the duplex and Goodman’s phone and computers on Jan. 12. The next day, detectives with the Prineville Police Department used a ruse to get Goodman to the police station. But they didn’t lie to him; they asked if he’d come in to help with an investigation.

Once at the station, detectives told Goodman the investigation’s true purpose. He handed them his house keys and other officers drove to search his residence.

In an interrogation room, Goodman was read his Miranda rights but agreed to be interviewed and submit to a polygraph exam about whether he’d ever had sexual contact with children, which he denied.

He allegedly told police that after viewing child pornography, he would delete the apps from his phone because he felt ashamed. He allegedly said he preferred girls around 14 years old.

“Further questioning revealed that Goodman admitted to sexually lusting after young children in his position as a Youth Minister,” wrote special agent Lindsly.

Goodman explained that he received sexual gratification from touching children on parts of their body that were not explicitly sexual, such as their arm or shoulder. He also admitted to feeling sexual gratification at least once  while with a child younger than 5.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Goodman was the director of his church’s annual Rally at the Rock, a three-day bible camp at Smith Rock for children in grades 7-12.

A cached page from the church website reads, “He has provided a wonderful environment for the youth to grow and be encouraged.”