A former high school softball coach was sentenced to 14 years in prison after photographing naked children.
A judge condemned Gordon Cordell III, 48, in a Clinton County courthouse on Friday. Those who were photographed and filmed testified before the court on the impact Cordell’s actions had on them.
“My photo, my body, as a 16-year-old girl, is now stored in the National Child Victim Identification Program, not because of anything that I’ve done, but because of something he did,” Tiffany Goodwin said. She was a 16-year-old traveling softball player for a team Cordell coached. He secretly photographed her and the others in their hotel restroom.
“This man did not just hurt his victims; he shattered the worlds around us,” she replied. “Our children, our siblings, our parents.”
Court filings suggest that the incident began in 2018, when Cordell installed concealed cameras in his girlfriend’s home. The cameras were camouflaged as cellphone chargers and Bluetooth speakers. They were in his girlfriend’s daughter’s bedroom and a bathroom where the family had a shower. A victim’s advocate advocated for his girlfriend’s daughter.
“Gordon used these cameras to record me naked. ” The discovery of this violation was immediate and devastating,” she explained.
Cordell’s attorney stated that her client set the cameras to shoot naked adults and had no intention of photographing children. However, he did take photographs of naked children, which detectives discovered after his partner contacted authorities following a divorce. Cordell was arrested last August.
“We’re not here to say that what he did was not wrong,” Cordell’s attorney, Alex Deardorff, stated. “It definitely was and is worth the felony. But he paused.”
Cordell’s current wife, Emily Cordell, also asked for leniency.
“I have come to know him as the most attentive, patient, and loving father I could have ever hoped for my children,” Emily Cordell told me.
Cordell then spoke directly to the victims.
“I am deeply sorry for the discomfort, betrayal, and emotional impact my actions have caused you,” he said.
The prosecutor and the court, who issued the punishment, both felt that the apology was inadequate.
“For a total aggregate prison term of 168 months—14 years,” the court stated.
Cordell exhibited no reaction as the judge read the punishment. Deputies then handcuffed and escorted him out of the courtroom. Cordell captured video or images of at least seven minors and six adult women.
After the hearing, the girlfriend who had initially phoned police expressed satisfaction with the sentencing.
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