An International Falls man convicted in 2007 of two counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct involving children is expected to be released from prison, causing concern for some of Borderland’s top law officers and victims advocates.
Donald E. MacDougall, 78, pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct in 2007. A third charge was dismissed under a plea agreement reached at that time. MacDougall is accused of inappropriate conduct with several children over a period of years while they were at a day care program licensed to his wife, Irene, located on County Road 20 east of International Falls.
According to court documents, MacDougall admitted in a statement to sheriff’s deputies to some of the inappropriate contact of which he is accused.
The complaints also allege that MacDougall told the children not to tell anyone of the contact. The children involved were ages 3-4 and 5-7, according to the complaints. He had no previous criminal history.
He was sentenced to more than seven years in prison, of which he has served 2/3 in prison, according to Sarah Russell, a Minnesota Department of Corrections spokesperson. The other 1/3 of his sentence, as is normal with all offenders, will be served under supervised release, said Russell. She said additional supervision, called intensive supervised release, has been added for MacDougall until 2019.
When he is released Dec. 17, it is expected that he will live in Borderland, likely in International Falls.
Under the conditions of his release, Russell said MacDougall may have no contact with children; must successfully complete sex offender programming; must not purchase or possess or allow in his residence sexually explicit materials, nor enter an establishment that has sexual entertainment as its primary business; and he must submit to polygraph tests as directed by his agent. He is also subject to standard conditions of release.
He will be supervised by Arrowhead Regional Corrections Agent Sven Pieper, who is based in Virginia.
Koochiching County Sheriff Brian Jespersen handled the case in 2007 and said he’s “very disappointed” that MacDougall, given the nature of his convictions, was not recommended for civil commitment as a sexual predator. He said he is concerned that MacDougall will reoffend, “but the panel doesn’t believe so.”
“It’s a failure of our system, I think,” said Jespersen. “Other people, professionals, make different decisions than I would.”
County Attorney Jeff Naglosky explained that a screening team reviews a candidate’s release status and determines if they are an appropriate candidate for civil commitment. That team, according to Jespersen, includes six people: a chair, a case manager, a victims’ service representative, a sex offender treatment professional, a law enforcement professional, and another person.
“MacDougall was screened and the screening team made a decision not to refer it to my office for civil commitment,” said Naglosky. “When I learned of that, I requested the entire file on which I could make an independent review and after reviewing the screening report and entire file, I determined there is not a strong enough case to pursue civil commitment.”
Asked whether he was disappointed about the results of the review, he said yes.
International Falls Police Chief Mike Musich told The Journal he was not notified of MacDougall’s release.
MacDougall will be considered a Level 2 offender, according to Jespersen. A Level 3 designation indicates high likelihood to reoffend, while a Level 2 designation indicates a moderate likelihood to reoffend, according to the DOC website. Risk levels are assigned by the DOT. Information about Level 3 offenders is available on the DOC website.
Pieper did not return phone calls in time for publication.
LeeAnn Meer, executive director of Friends Against Abuse, a victims advocacy and education organization, said she was shocked that MacDougall will not be civilly committed and will instead be released without community notification.
“I believed he would be civilly committed and did not think he would come back to this community without the ability to contact the victims about this,” she said. “I don’t really know where the lines are drawn legally, but in this case we were just shocked that this is the outcome.”
As a Level 2 offender returning to the community, Meer said MacDougall will be required to register with law enforcement “but at a higher level offender, the victims would be contacted to let them know they are back.”
Meer said she appreciates the news coverage of MacDougall’s pending release.
“Say your daughter is one of the victims and they’re in the grocery story and here comes the perpetrator,” she said. “Coming out in the paper is great. It’s one way to let people know in this small community. Everyone I know is just shocked about this.”
Meer said she’s asked law officers whether an appeals process exists, but there is apparently none. “A checks and balance? Can we do something? Can we get this looked at again?” she asked.
More information about sex offenders laws in Minnesota can be found at www.doc.state.mn.us/.
