NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Pop-country singer Bobby Goldsboro says he will obtain custody of his 8-year-old daughter if it takes every cent he's got.
Testimony by his daughter, Terri, now 17, at Goldsboro's divorce trial last December alleged that the singer molested her and a friend when they were both 11.
'The worst thing that could be said about someone with my image, who sings about family life and children is child molesting. It's almost like you're helpless when something like this happens,' Goldsboro said Saturday.
Goldsboro, 42, is best known for his songs, 'The Straight Life,' 'Honey,' and 'Watching Scotty Grow.'
Circuit Court Judge Henry Bell granted Goldsboro a divorce from Mary Alice Watson Goldsboro, 38, after a trial in neighboring Franklin last December. Mrs. Goldsboro was given custody of the couple's youngest daughter, Brandy. The state Court of Appeals affirmed the ruling last week.
Goldsboro said he plans to appeal the case to the Tennessee Supreme Court.
'I'm going to get Brandy if it takes the next 10 years and every cent I've got,' he said.
In his first public comment on the divorce action which had not been publicized until last week, Goldsboro said he felt like 'somebody had ripped my heart out' when he learned of his daughter's testimony.
'If I had done something like that I ought to go to jail,' he said.
'The simplest thing to do would have been to make a quiet settlement and be done with it. But when you're innocent of some thing and your reputation is at stake, you've got to fight it. I will go to my grave fighting this accusation.
'I've spent over 20 years building a reputation that is spotless. I have never one time been linked with any drugs, with any booze, with any woman other than my wife,' he said.
'I've been called squeaky clean and goody-goody, and to me that's a compliment. I don't think that one lie, one false accusation, can ruin my reputation.'
