McDonald
An 18-year-old Brownstown man faces two counts of sexual misconduct with a minor after his recent arrest, police report.
One count against Robert McDonald is a Level 5 felony and the other is a Level 6 felony. He was booked into the Jackson County Jail in Brownstown at 1:56 p.m. July 14 and released on his own recognizance at 2:38 p.m. July 18.
According to the probable cause affidavit, Brownstown Police Department Officer Johnathan Amis responded to a report of a family fight May 3 at Jackson County Park in Brownstown. Upon arrival, he met a woman who said her daughter had been forced to engage in sexual conduct with a male on April 28.
While speaking to the woman, Amis said the victim started screaming and causing a scene. After a second request to speak with her about the incident, the victim said she didn’t want to tell Amis what happened, and she got upset and started grabbing her head in an aggressive manner, according to the probable cause affidavit.
Amis then told the mother her daughter didn’t want to talk to him at this time, and then he could hear a group of boys at the nearby Jackson County Juvenile Home say something about telling the police officer, Amis said.
After the victim and her parents left the park, Amis walked over to the juvenile home and asked the juveniles what they wanted to tell him, and a few of them stated a male, later identified by a juvenile home employee as McDonald, had raped the victim, according to the probable cause affidavit.
Amis then asked to speak to McDonald, and he agreed. Amis said McDonald told him he kissed the victim twice and she told him she wanted to have sex, to which he replied no because she is underage. McDonald, however, admitted to having a brief sexual encounter with the girl before she returned to her friends at the park.
Amis then spoke to one of the victim’s friends at the park, and after that, he contacted Detective Jac Sanders to do further investigation. The case was forwarded to Jackson County Sheriff’s Department Detective Clint Burcham.
During an interview with the victim May 16, Burcham said she confirmed kissing McDonald at the park and then he made her go to a nearby restroom and perform a sexual act on him and if she didn’t, “he would kill her,” according to the probable cause affidavit.
The incident was broken up when people from the group home called for McDonald to go there, Burcham said.
While interviewing the victim, Burcham said she told him McDonald had threatened her and made her feel scared.
Detective Sgt. Jesse Hutchinson went to the group home to try to speak to McDonald but was told he was under the control of the Department of Child Services and would want legal representation present if an interview was done.
Hutchinson later received a voicemail from McDonald’s attorney, Craig Graham, who said he was representing McDonald on a different case out of Clark County and wouldn’t authorize McDonald to give an interview on this case, according to the probable cause affidavit.
The case was then forwarded to the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office to see if probable cause existed for the charge of sexual misconduct with a minor, Burcham said. That led to McDonald’s arrest July 14.