COLUMBUS, Ohio — The former chief executive of a Belmont County residential treatment center for children appeared in federal court in Columbus on Monday afternoon after federal agents arrested him on child pornography and coercion charges that were unsealed the same day, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio announced.
Randall J. MacKendrick, 59, of St. Clairsville, served as CEO of the 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. Federal prosecutors charged him with possessing child pornography, which carries up to 20 years in prison, and attempted coercion and enticement of a minor, which carries at least 10 years and up to life in prison. Agents arrested him Saturday in West Virginia and transferred him to the Southern District of Ohio for Monday’s initial appearance.
According to the federal complaint, MacKendrick began communicating online in June with a North Ridgeville police officer who was working undercover and posing as a 14-year-old girl. Prosecutors allege the messages continued until August, were sexually explicit, offered gifts, and sought an in-person meeting. The complaint alleges he traveled to central Ohio in July, attempting to meet the fictitious teenager at Polaris Fashion Place, Tanger Outlets and a Holiday Inn, and traveled again in August to South Central Park in Lorain County, where local officers arrested him after he left the park.
Belmont County sheriff’s detectives later searched MacKendrick’s office and residence, and a forensic review of his electronic devices found images and videos of child sexual abuse material, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. He was released on bond in the local case, then arrested again in September after investigators learned he had allegedly been in contact with a 17-year-old former Fox Run patient. His bond was increased, and he was released again.
The federal announcement added a further allegation that had not been part of the earlier local case. 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, and prosecutors said his DNA matches DNA recovered from the victim. That investigation is still ongoing, and no charge in the Perry County case was announced Monday.
U.S. Attorney Dominick S. Gerace II, FBI Cincinnati Division Special Agent in Charge Jason Cromartie, 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 prosecuting the case, part of the Justice Department’s Project Safe Childhood initiative.
A criminal complaint contains allegations only, and MacKendrick is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court. The Columbus Dispatch reported he is represented by the federal public defender’s office.