Man arrested in Pender County and charged with 20 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor

PENDER COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — The Pender County Sheriff’s Office arrested a man following an investigation into online communications involving a minor.

Benjamin Godwin, 41, was arrested after deputies and detectives responded to an incident in the Hampstead area after receiving information that he had arranged to meet someone he believed to be an underage child.

Godwin was charged with soliciting a minor by computer and issued a $75,000 secured bond.

The online watchdog group Predator Poachers based in Houston help deputies catch Godwin.

“Hey, what’s up Benjamin, how’s it going man. Oh my gosh, what the ****. Just want to have a conversation about what’s going on here. Any weapons on you? No. Okay”

Godwin responded to an online advertisement from a mother promising sexual acts with her 11-year-old daughter. Godwin went to meet-up with them at this air BnB in Hampstead. On his arrival the decoy mom and daughter played around with him and painted on his face. Alex Rosen, founder of Predator Poachers, says Godwin admitted to knowing the girl was 11-year-olds sending sexual messages to the girl online and even brought condoms to the meet-up.  

“And he also admits to viewing child pornography online as young as 10 or 11 years old and he would describe the videos in detail for me that he watched,” Rosen said. 

After the sting, Rosen called the Pender County Sheriff’s Office. Rosen claims that Godwin admitted told the deputy that he actively had child pornography. He was then taken into custody at the Hampstead Air BnB. According to Godwin’s arrest warrant, he had child pornography of minors from 12 years old to as young as three months’ old.

Teresa Williams and her husband have been neighbors with Godwin for more than a decade. Williams says she saw the Predator Poacher’s video and was shocked. 

“How this came about, where it came from, I don’t know, we could have been knocked over with a feather, I’m glad no one was hurt,” Williams said.

Operations like this one could raise concerns regarding entrapment laws in North Carolina, meaning a defense attorney could claim the defendant was induced by law enforcement to commit a crime Thom Goolsby a private attorney of 34 years in Wilmington says as long as private groups like predator poachers are working independently of law enforcement, a defense attorney would not be able to claim entrapment. 

“Most of the time in cases like the one you’re looking at here law enforcement isn’t doing anything to persuade someone into doing something they wouldn’t ordinarily do this is what they are looking to do,” Goolsby said.

 This is one of hundreds arrests the Predator Poachers have helped police with nationwide. Back in 2023, the group also assisted police in the arrest of 52-year-old Gregory Allen Scarberry, when they caught him with child pornography using the same decoy as they did with Godwin.  

“He just got basically a time served in jail and he’s now a sex offender in Ohio and North Carolina, I anticipate that’s probably what’s going to happen with Benjamin,” Rosen said.

Godwin has since been charged with 20 counts of second degree sexual exploitation of a minor.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Pender County Sheriff’s Office.