'Exemplary' soldier hauled before court after his 'repeated lies' were found out

An ‘exemplary’ soldier was hauled before a judge after being caught out telling ‘repeated lies’. Rhys Gooding, 32, a corporal who has served in the British Army for 14 years, crashed his car during an incident in Rochdale.

He fled the scene, and later called the police to claim his vehicle had actually been stolen. It was only months later and after ‘repeated lies’ that the truth came out. Minshull Street Crown Court heard that police became suspicious and tested the airbag of the car for DNA, implicating Gooding.

He confessed when confronted by officers about the finding. Gooding, who has served on several tours overseas including in Afghanistan, faced a possible jail sentence after pleading guilty to perverting the course of justice.

READ MORE: 'Our family has been destroyed...' Tributes to woman, 22, killed in south Manchester crash

But a judge said he would take an exceptional course and instead ordered Gooding to complete unpaid work. He said glowing references submitted on Gooding’s behalf told how he was a ‘very efficient and very well respected soldier’, and was ordinarily an 'impeccable citizen and soldier'.

He said the crime was committed while Gooding was in ‘turmoil’ due to personal circumstances and serious mental health issues. Prosecuting, Betsy Hindle told how Gooding called police on April 10, 2022, reporting that his car had been stolen. Gooding said he’d found his car damaged when he walked down the street.

He told police that he couldn’t remember where he’d left his car keys because he’d been intoxicated the night before. Gooding was treated as a victim of a crime and an officer was assigned to the case.

The following month he provided a full statement to police, and was warned about the consequences of making a false declaration. In the statement, Gooding told how ‘annoying’ and ‘inconvenient’ he found it to have had his car stolen.

The court heard that police became ‘suspicious’ and Gooding was asked to provide a sample of his saliva. The airbag of his car was sent off for tests, with a positive match for his DNA being made.

When confronted with the findings, he admitted that he’d been driving at the time of the crash. Gooding apologised and said he’d ‘panicked’ before running off.

Defending, Huw Edwards said Gooding wished to apologise to the police and the courts. He said the defendant was experiencing a 'very difficult time’ in his life, following the end of a long term relationship with a woman he shares two children with.

He said Gooding suffered from serious mental health issues. Mr Edwards said Gooding had made some ‘truly terrible decisions’ but told how he is now ‘back on course’. He said Gooding had told ‘repeated lies’ but said he was ‘never going to get away with it’.

Sentencing, Recorder Geoffrey Lowe told Gooding: “To your credit you finally accepted the truth of what you had done. You have wasted police time, you have wasted court time as a result of all this.” He said Gooding was of ‘exemplary character’ but had made a ‘significant lapse of judgement’.

“There was some impact on the administration of justice, not a great deal,” the judge continued. “If you were to be sent to custody others would suffer, in particular your children. The consequences would be completely out of proportion to the incident offence.

“It seems to me you have a positive career in the Army to look forward to.” Gooding, from North Yorkshire, was sentenced to a 12 month community order, and was ordered to complete 240 hours of unpaid work.