In the wake of sexual assault allegations made against a now-fired East Point police officer, a woman who made similar claims against him years ago is speaking out.
Amiracle Bullard met Richard Gooddine in 2011 after she’d run away at age 14, she told Channel 2 Action News.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution does not name alleged victims of sexual assault, but Bullard has chosen to speak out in light of recent events.
The 21-year-old said the then-officer brought her home to her father and offered to mentor her.
"Officer Gooddine used to come by my house every day in uniform," Bullard told investigative reporter Mark Winne.
Eventually, she said, he sexually assaulted her.
A sexual battery and child molestation case was brought against him in 2011, but the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office declined to prosecute Gooddine, saying it would not have been in the victim’s best interest, according to Channel 2. Gooddine, who was hired by the East Point Police Department in late 2007, maintained his innocence in the case.
“I was told he passed a lie detector test,” Bullard said.
Bullard said a woman from the DA’s office called her Thursday and apologized for how things turned out, and gave her the impression Gooddine is now on their radar, Channel 2 said.
“They could have handled this seven years ago,” Bullard said. “I just know how (the recent victim) feels because it’s a terrible feeling.”
Gooddine is currently under investigation by the GBI and was fired from the police department last week after he was accused sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl. Moments after he was fired, Gooddine told Channel 2 the latest accusations against him were false.
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Records show Gooddine was also accused of sexual misconduct or inappropriate touching in 2016 and 2017. In the former case, a woman told police Gooddine “brushed against her breast” as he handcuffed her on a charge of driving with a suspended license; in the latter, a woman accused of shoplifting alleged Gooddine pulled her pants down in his patrol car and fondled her, according to Channel 2.
Both internal investigations were deemed “not sustained.”
Attorney Thomas Reynolds, who said he represents the 15-year-old victim in the latest case, said her and Bullard's stories are incredibly similar.
“I pray for them both,” Reynolds told the station. “I know the type of strength they must have to come forward against a police officer.”
The East Point Police Department has declined Channel 2’s request for comment. The department referred the AJC’s questions about the most recent allegations to the GBI.
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