- November 18, 2024
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Frank Goggans described the last 12 months of his life as “nine circles of hell.” For the first time since charges of kidnapping and sexual battery levied against him, his brother Daniel Goggans, and Charles Cowart relating to a March 20, 2013, incident were dropped, the Goggans brothers —along with counsel — spoke to media about the inferno.
“I want to thank my family, the people who didn’t read the paper and jump to conclusions and scorn me,” said Daniel Goggans, 28. “The people who waited for the facts to come out. Those people are decent people.”
A fourth man — Kurt Benjamin — had accepted a plea agreement to testify against the others. Benjamin now has a May 7 hearing, during which he is expected to withdraw from the deal and see all charges against him dropped, as well.
Ironically, according to Daniel Goggans’ attorney, Marc Dwyer, Benjamin’s plea and subsequent deposition led to a clearer picture of what happened on the night in question.
“As a result of that plea, and Mr. Benjamin being able to speak freely as we deposed him, that was a revelation that helped the new prosecutors corroborate the facts we knew from the beginning, that no crime was committed that night,” Dwyer said.
The case
Some of the facts were never in question. The four men met a young woman at Finn’s Beachside Pub on the evening of March 19, 2013. She had about five alcoholic drinks before leaving with the men. Video surveillance footage and independent testimony confirm as much.
The woman woke up the next morning inside a cabin in rural western Flagler County. She was naked and had no memory of the prior night’s events. There was evidence that she had been on a beach at some point the night before, according to court documents. Deputies questioned Frank Goggans in the following days, but charges weren’t filed until November.
Despite the fact that arrest warrants were issued and the men were initially labeled as fugitives by law enforcement, all four turned themselves in and cooperated. Frank Goggans even volunteered a camera phone with pictures of the men and their accuser riding horses together on the morning of the March 20, 2013.
“We brought the truth to them, and they drug us through nine circles of hell,” Frank Goggans said.
The brothers also reiterated that their former accuser — who has maintained she had no memory of the incident — never truly “accused” them. They contend that the charges were the result of investigators’ suggestions after the fact.
“What’s troubling is, the state examined this case for seven months, and no new evidence came in from the date of this incident until the arrest,” Dwyer said. “They took seven months. That should tell you all you need to know about the strength of the evidence from the beginning.”
Question marks
If “nothing at all wrong” happened that Tuesday night or Wednesday morning, then why did Benjamin, 26, agree to a plea that would’ve implicated all four men?
“His attorney got him a very good deal,” Frank Goggans’ attorney George Pappas explained. The deal was to avoid a possible life imprisonment and instead accept a five-year felony, with probation, adjudication and guilt withheld. Pappas said, “The kid took it, and they got him out of jail.”
The two original prosecutors assigned to the case — assistant state attorneys Ben Fox and Scott Westbrook — were transferred to other jurisdictions before the charges were dropped. Fox is now retired.
“It’s very coincidental, isn’t it?” Daniel Goggans said.
Prosecutors Melissa Clark and Christina Opsahl, who were recently assigned to the case, then decided there wasn’t enough evidence to prosecute.
Calls to the 7th Circuit State Attorney’s Office were not immediately returned Tuesday afternoon.
Moving forward, Dwyer said there are no defined plans to file a civil suit, but that is a possibility.
“This is by no means a happy day,” Dwyer said. “There’s no high-fiving or hand-grabbing. This thing has all-around been a very tragic situation.”
Daniel Goggans says he lost a year’s worth of time while facing the accusations and enduring their repercussions; his brother claims far more was pried away from him over the past year.
“I’d say that’s pretty much everything, right?” Frank Goggans asked. “Your character, your respect, your house and your life.”
