Wayne “Ray” Goff, a former professional skateboarder who once coached and mentored young skaters around Charlotte, will likely spend the rest of his life in prison. A Mecklenburg County jury found him guilty of sexually exploiting children over a span of decades, and on Thursday a judge handed down a 116-year sentence that survivors hope will finally close a long and painful chapter.
The judge ordered Goff to serve prison terms totaling 116 years after the jury convicted him on a slate of child sex charges, as reported by WSOC. The trial pulled in allegations going back to the 1990s and involving multiple victims, with jurors hearing how a once-trusted coach allegedly turned his access to young skaters into an opportunity for abuse.
Prosecutors said Goff was convicted on more than a dozen counts, including taking indecent liberties with a child, a forcible sexual offense, and a statutory sexual offense with a child. They told the court that the abuse spanned several victims from the early 1990s into around 2010, according to Queen City News.
Investigation and arrests
The case did not break open until early 2022, when an alleged victim sent an email that landed with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department’s Crimes Against Children unit. Detectives then began digging into claims that stretched back decades. Goff was first arrested on March 21, 2022, and investigators later obtained additional warrants that led to his arrest at his home in Mount Holly, a sequence of charges and warrants documented by WBTV.
Survivors and courtroom testimony
In court, prosecutors made it clear they believed the case stood on the courage of the survivors. Eleven people came forward, and ten of them took the stand to testify against Goff. Assistant district attorneys Katie Atwood and Terra Varnes publicly thanked those witnesses, according to Queen City News.
Court documents and testimony outlined what prosecutors described as a pattern. They argued that Goff used coaching trips and one-on-one mentoring relationships to isolate young skaters, then exploited the trust he had built with them and their families.
Police and community response
In the wake of the verdict, investigators and local victim-advocacy groups have continued urging anyone with information to speak up. Detectives highlighted what they described as classic grooming behaviors in this case, warning families to watch for adults who use trust, authority, and repeated invitations to private settings as tools to manipulate kids, a pattern emphasized in coverage by WCCB.
The case itself, built from decades-old records, survivor testimony, and recent reports from victims, shows how long-buried allegations can still move through the courts. Local reporters and law-enforcement sources told WSOC that the lengthy sentence is intended to permanently remove a predator from the community while offering survivors at least some measure of closure.
