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Man faces sex charges in Lawrence County
Decatur Daily - 3/10/2019
March 10-- Mar. 10--MOULTON -- A 42-year-old former Lawrence County man accused of raping a child under 12 years old, sodomy, incest and torture was arrested Tuesday night, according to the Lawrence County Sheriff's Office.
Kenneth Ray McDonald, formerly of the Hatton community, is facing three counts of first-degree rape, three counts of rape of a child under 12 years of age, 10 counts of first-degree sodomy, incest and willful abuse and torture of a child under the age of 18, according to the Sheriff's Office. Court records show McDonald lives at 256 Peden St., Killen. He also formerly lived in Danville, records indicate.
He is in Lawrence County Jail with bail set at $870,000 on the 18 felonies, according to jail records.
Public Information Officer Lt. Chris Waldrep said Friday morning the Sheriff's Office received information from a source about two weeks ago, and an investigation started immediately.
Waldrep said McDonald called the Sheriff's Office on Tuesday wanting to meet with investigators.
"He said he had a report that would exonerate him in the investigation," Waldrep said. "We met him at a Hatton business and served the warrants."
Waldrep said while investigators were talking with McDonald at the business, a female with two children drove up.
"There were bags with clothes in the vehicle and it looked like McDonald was planning to leave the (state)," he said.
Waldrep said the bail was set high because of the seriousness of the charges. "Additionally, the suspicion of him fleeing added to the bail total," he said.
On Thursday afternoon, McDonald appeared before Lawrence County District Court Judge Angela Terry for his initial appearance hearing and heard the charges he is facing, according to court records.
A preliminary hearing for McDonald has been set for 8:30 a.m.March 15.
Sheriff Max Sanders said the case remains under investigation.
-- mike.wetzel@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2442. Twitter @DD_Wetzel.
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