Destin man found guilty of capital sexual battery

A 65-year-old Destin man was found guilty of capital sexual battery on a victim less than 12 years old as well as lewd and lascivious molestation on a child less than 12 and tampering with a witness.

Gregory Grant Goodson was found guilty by a jury of the charges this week. He is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 22 by Circuit Court Judge William Stone, according to a State Attorney’s Office press release.

The charges arose after two children told law enforcement Goodson had molested them between July 2010 and June 2012, the release said. After Goodson’s arrest, he offered the children’s parents $40,000 if they dropped the charges. Goodson faces a mandatory life sentence and designation as a sexual predator.

The case was investigated by the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office and Children’s Advocacy Center. Assistant State Attorney Christine Bosau prosecuted the case.