A former Boston Public Schools employee is facing charges of aggravated child rape and exploitation.
Michael McDonald, 40, who now lives in South Carolina, was arraigned Monday in Suffolk Superior Court on three counts of aggravated rape of a child and one count each of posing a child in a state of nudity, possession of child sexual abuse materials and dissemination of materials harmful to a minor, the Suffolk District Attorney's Office said.
He was released without bail and ordered to stay away from the victim and any witnesses and to have no unsupervised contact with any child under age 18, including his own children. He was also ordered to surrender his passport.
Prosecutors said the survivor of the abuse, who is now an adult, met McDonald through his capacity as dean of students at the Dearborn Middle School in Roxbury. McDonald ran a school-based program called "Live Brothers," and founded and operated a private program for male youths called "Family for Life." They said McDonald ingratiated himself to the victim's family to gain their trust and secure access to the victim.
McDonald later became a mentor to the victim and used this position of power and trust to groom the victim – then a child – for abuse, prosecutors said. The sexual assaults began in 2013 when the youth was only 15 years old and continued for a number of years.
He is also accused of photographing the victim in the nude and keeping those images. He also allegedly sent the victim a nude photograph of himself.
In addition to his roles at the Dearborn Middle School and “Family for Life,” McDonald is believed to have worked or volunteered with a number of schools and programs for at-risk youth, including the Lilla G. Frederick Pilot Middle School, James F. Condon K-8 School, and programs associated with Morgan Memorial Goodwill Industries, Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Boston, College for Every Student, The Trust Project and Straight Ahead Ministries.
“The victim’s family thought they were getting a mentor and role model for their loved one. Instead, they got Michael McDonald, a grown man now accused of using his position of trust to prey on a child,” Suffolk District Attorney Rachael Rollins said. “I’m so proud of the survivor in this case for coming forward to share his truth, despite the pain and trauma disclosure can sometimes create for survivors."
McDonald's next court date is scheduled for Feb. 16, 2022.
