Sex offender released in Waukesha: Young woman victimized when she was six speaks out
WAUKESHA COUNTY -- The release of a registered sex offender in Waukesha County on Tuesday, March 8th has residents on edge. Authorities say 44-year-old Kenneth McDonald is considered a serious offender with a high probability to re-offend -- and McDonald is now homeless.
Kenneth McDonald
McDonald was convicted in 2005 after pleading guilty to a felony charge of second degree sexual assault of a child in September.
In February 2006, McDonald was sentenced to serve six years in prison and 12 years extended supervision.
McDonald is considered a serious offender with a high probability to reoffend, officials say.
Officials say McDonald's offense was committed against two girls -- ages three and six, whom McDonald lived with. McDonald inappropriately touched both victims, and also admitted to being in possession of hundreds of images of child pornography.
The six-year-old girl McDonald was convicted of sexually assaulting is now 17 years old.
When the crimes happened, McDonald admitted to police he assaulted as many as eight children.
He has served his time, and on Tuesday, he was released on GPS monitoring, with no permanent home.
Officials in Waukesha have been circulating a mugshot of McDonald and warning residents of his release.
"Nobody should trust anybody like him," the 17-year-old woman who was a victim of McDonald said. "I can't believe someone like you would do something like that, and I've waited 11 years to say this: You are not a man. You are a monster."
Kenneth McDonald
It all began when McDonald, a family friend, was staying at the home where the girl lived. The girl's family had no idea what would happen next. The house was raided, and hundreds of images of child pornography were discovered on McDonald's computer. McDonald was arrested, and then confessed to much more.
"They told me that while they had him in some room, he just started dropping that he had touched her and what he had done for the most part and started spilling his guts and I flipped out. I flipped out," the victim's mother said.
Officials at that time said they believed McDonald was responsible for molesting eight children.
FOX6 was there in 2006 when McDonald was sentenced. He looked very different, and said he needed help.
"I've come to realize that I do have a serious problem and I need help," McDonald said at his sentencing hearing.
It's not clear whether he got any help in prison.
The 17-year-old girl he victimized when she was six, who has Asperger's, testified against him.
"They say he's remorseful but I don't think he is. If you're the kind of person who could do that to a child you have no guilt," the victim said.
FOX6 News emailed a list of questions about McDonald's release to officials with the Wisconsin Department of Corrections.
We received this statement:
Mr. McDonald was sentenced to six years in prison and 12 years of extended supervision. Extended supervision requires regular meetings with his agent of record and participation in offense-related programming. DOC revoked his extended supervision in 2011 and 2013 due to violation of the terms of his supervision.
The 2011 violation resulted in 21 additional months of incarceration and the 2013 violation resulted in 37 additional months of incarceration. Sex offenders are responsible for locating housing upon their release. He is on lifetime registration with the sex offender registration program and also has a GPS monitoring bracelet.
Mr. McDonald has been housed at New Lisbon Correctional Institution and Racine Correctional Institution. Sex offenders in prison are given the opportunity to participate in offense-related programming.
In announcing McDonald's release, officials in Waukesha County said he would be taken to the Waukesha County Sheriff's Department for face-to-face registration following his release.
McDonald will be a lifetime sex offender registrant and will be on GPS monitoring. If he violates the terms of his lifetime registry or GPS conditions, he will be taken back into custody.
