Sex offender gets 15-year sentence
By ROBIN FITZGERALD
rfitzgerald@sunherald.com
GULFPORT - A Gulfport man will spend 15 years in prison for unlawfully touching a juvenile during an outing on the beach near Jones Park.

Circuit Judge Roger Clark sentenced Michael James McDonald on Wednesday after jurors deliberated 3½ hours, convicting him on two counts of touching a child for lustful purposes.

Defense attorney Jim Davis argued McDonald, 37, of Old Highway 49, was merely applying suntan lotion to the young acquaintance that Saturday, May 22, 2004.

But several witnesses, including police officers responding to a citizen complaint, saw McDonald place his hands on parts of her body that don't need sunscreen, said Joel Smith, an assistant district attorney.

Responding to a complaint called in to a dispatcher, police witnessed the second incident and arrested McDonald, Smith said.

McDonald had been out of jail on $25,000 bond pending prosecution. The two-day trial began Tuesday.

McDonald received the maximum penalty for each count, but the judge ordered prison time to run concurrent for a total of 15 years without eligibility for parole.

On release from prison, McDonald must register as a convicted sex offender.

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