Russell Brian McDonaldÂ
We’re learning more details behind two sex offender violation charges against a west Kentucky tourism office director.
Russell Brian McDonald is the tourism director in Grand Rivers. We filed an open records request with Kentucky State Police to get the citation on charges he faces in Lyon County.
First, some background. We learned after viewers alerted us earlier this month that McDonald has been on the sex offender registry since 2005 after a conviction on two counts of first-degree sexual abuse involving an 8-year-old child.
More recently, he faces three sex offender registry violations for playgrounds and schools: one in Marshall County and two in Lyon County – both from 2022.
He’s accused of handing out cotton candy to children.
In early August, the Marshall County Sheriff’s Department released a citation to us that outlines the violation allegation at Mike Miller Park in October 2022 during a fall festival.
It also mentions a Kentucky State Police investigation out of Lyon County. We received the citation on those charges from KSP Tuesday in response to an open records request.Â
It explains that KSP Post 1 got a complaint that McDonald hadn’t been compliant with the sex offender registry, that he was associated with his wife’s food truck business, Cotton Candy Creations, and had worked with it on two different occasions at Lyon County Elementary School and Vista Ridge Park in Kuttawa – both in October of 2022.
The trooper who filed the citation wrote “I have obtained eyewitness statements as well as confirmation from both the school board and Kuttawa tourism that no letter of approval was issued before hand.”
A letter of approval is required for a registered sex offender to be on school or playground grounds.
To see our previous coverage of the allegation against Russell Brian McDonald, click here.
Download the document below to read the uniform citation from Kentucky State Police.Â
Click Here For The Original Source.
