Randall J. MacKendrick

Introduction

Randall J. MacKendrick, 59, of St. Clairsville, Ohio, ran the Fox Run Center for Children and Adolescents — a residential facility treating boys ages 5 to 12 and girls ages 12 to 17 — as its chief executive. In October 2026 he stood in federal court in Columbus for an initial appearance on child pornography and attempted coercion and enticement charges, after a summer in which he was arrested twice, searched twice, and identified through a DNA match as a suspect in the kidnapping and rape of a 14-year-old girl. The charges come from a criminal complaint and are allegations; he is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

Background Information

MacKendrick served as CEO of the Fox Run Center for Children and Adolescents in St. Clairsville. According to the charging documents, in June 2026 he began communicating online with a North Ridgeville police officer acting undercover and posing as a 14-year-old girl, sending sexually explicit messages, offering gifts, and requesting an in-person meeting. In July 2026 he allegedly traveled to central Ohio attempting to meet the fictitious teenager at Polaris Fashion Place, Tanger Outlets, and a Holiday Inn.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

Charged, not convicted. MacKendrick is charged by criminal complaint with possessing child pornography, punishable by up to 20 years, and attempted coercion and enticement of a minor, carrying at least 10 years and up to life. The complaint contains allegations only, and he is presumed innocent.

In August 2026, MacKendrick allegedly traveled to South Central Park in Lorain County to meet the purported teenager and was arrested on local charges after departing the park; law enforcement found multiple sex toys, several condoms, and three cell phones in his vehicle. Belmont County Sheriff’s detectives then searched his office and residence, and their forensic analysis of his digital devices discovered images and videos of child sexual abuse material. Released on bond, he was re-arrested in September after officers learned he was allegedly in contact with a 17-year-old former Fox Run patient; his bond was increased and he was released again. In October, the FBI learned MacKendrick is a suspect in a Perry County case involving the kidnapping and rape of a 14-year-old — his DNA matches DNA recovered from the victim, and that investigation is still ongoing. He was arrested on a Saturday in West Virginia and transferred to the Southern District of Ohio ahead of his 26 October initial appearance, where the federal charges were unsealed.

Public Reaction and Consequences

United States Attorney Dominick S. Gerace II for the Southern District of Ohio announced the charges alongside Jason Cromartie, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Cincinnati Division, the North Ridgeville Police Department, and Belmont County Sheriff James G. Zusack. Assistant United States Attorneys Emily Czerniejewski and Tyler J. Aagard are representing the United States. The case is part of Project Safe Childhood, the Justice Department initiative against child sexual exploitation, and investigators have pointed alleged victims and the public toward reporting channels as the Perry County investigation continues.

Current Status

MacKendrick is in federal custody following his transfer from West Virginia and his unsealed initial appearance in Columbus on 26 October 2026. He faces up to 20 years on the child pornography possession count and a mandatory minimum of 10 years up to life on the attempted coercion and enticement count if convicted. The Perry County kidnapping and rape investigation — in which his DNA matched evidence from the 14-year-old victim — remains open, and his prior local and state cases remain pending.

Impact on Their Career/Life

MacKendrick’s role atop a treatment facility for some of Ohio’s most vulnerable children has ended in federal charges, two arrests, and an open rape investigation. The pattern alleged in the complaint — an undercover sting, sexual abuse material on his own devices, contact with a former teenage patient, and a DNA match in a separate assault case — makes his return to any position of trust over children implausible even before adjudication. The case also documents how the release-and-rearrest cycle played out across three months: arrested on local charges in August, released on bond, re-arrested in September over contact with a 17-year-old former patient, bond increased and released again, then taken into federal custody in West Virginia once the Perry County DNA finding emerged in October.

Sources

• U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Ohio, “Federal agents arrest former CEO of child & adolescent residential treatment center on federal child pornography, coercion charges” — source