Sex-crime charge dismissed against Mountain Home dentist accused of selling sedatives

Elmore County prosecutors have dismissed a child-sex crime charge against a Mountain Home dentist.

John Goodrich, 57, was initially accused of sexually abusing a girl between the ages of 9 to 15. When the alleged victim reported what happened in 2016, she was in her early 30s.

Elmore County Deputy Prosecutor Jessica Kuehn said her office was forced to dismiss the charge of lewd conduct with a child younger than 16 because of insufficient evidence. Under Idaho law, there is no statute of limitations for those sex crimes against children.

Kuehn said because the alleged crime happened about two decades ago, witnesses’ memories have aged, and she decided the charges must be dismissed, which she did Aug. 1.

Before Goodrich was charged, police said they obtained tape recordings of conversations between him and the victim and her mother that implicated the dentist in the crime.

Goodrich still faces a separate charge on suspicion of delivery of a controlled substance in Ada County. That charge stems from an unrelated incident in which he was accused of illegally distributing a sedative. Law enforcement accused Goodrich of illegally delivering the sedative Halcion in July 2016.

Goodrich told the Statesman in March that one of his patients was undergoing a “microneedle facial” procedure from an aesthetician at a Boise medical office, and she insisted that he give her a sedative to calm her.

His next court appearance in the Ada County drug case is set for 4 p.m. Wednesday.

The Idaho Board of Dentistry still lists Goodrich’s dental license as active.

This story was originally published September 12, 2017 at 3:35 PM with the headline "Sex-crime charge dismissed against Mountain Home dentist accused of selling sedatives."