COLUMBUS, Ohio — The former CEO of a Belmont County residential treatment facility for children and adolescents has been arrested on federal child pornography and coercion charges, and is also a suspect in the kidnapping and rape of a 14-year-old girl in Perry County, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio.
Randall J. MacKendrick, 59, of St. Clairsville, made an initial appearance in federal court in Columbus on Monday, when his charges were unsealed. He is charged with possessing child pornography, which carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison, and attempted coercion and enticement of a minor, which carries a potential penalty of at least 10 years and up to life in prison, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
MacKendrick served as CEO of Fox Run Center for Children and Adolescents in St. Clairsville, a facility that treats boys ages 5 to 12 and girls ages 12 to 17, according to the release.
He was first arrested in August on local charges after allegedly attempting to meet up with who he believed was a teenage girl, the release said. According to charging documents, MacKendrick began communicating online in June with a North Ridgeville police officer working undercover and posing as a 14-year-old girl, sending the officer sexually explicit messages, offering to send gifts and asking to meet in person, according to the release.
MacKendrick allegedly traveled to central Ohio in July in an attempt to meet the fictitious teenager at Polaris Fashion Place, Tanger Outlets and a Holiday Inn, the release said. In August, he allegedly traveled to South Central Park in Lorain County to meet the purported teen and was arrested on local charges after leaving the park. Law enforcement found multiple sex toys, several condoms and three cellphones in his vehicle, according to the release.
Also in August, Belmont County Sheriff’s Office detectives searched MacKendrick’s office and residence. A forensic analysis of his digital devices turned up images and videos of child sexual abuse material, the release said.
MacKendrick was released on bond in the local case but was re-arrested in September after investigators learned he was allegedly in contact with a 17-year-old former patient of Fox Run, according to the release. His bond was increased, and he was released again.
In October, FBI agents learned MacKendrick is a suspect in a Perry County case involving the kidnapping and rape of a 14-year-old girl in May. His DNA matches DNA recovered from the victim, and that investigation remains ongoing, the release said.
MacKendrick was arrested Saturday in West Virginia and transferred to the Southern District of Ohio ahead of Monday’s court appearance, according to the release.
U.S. Attorney Dominick S. Gerace II; Jason Cromartie, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Cincinnati Division; the North Ridgeville Police Department; and Belmont County Sheriff James G. Zusack announced the charges. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Emily Czerniejewski and Tyler J. Aagard are representing the United States in the case.
Suspects are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
The case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat child sexual exploitation, according to the release.
The information contained in this story was obtained from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio.
