BC Couple pleads guilty in molestation case

A Boulder Creek couple arrested on charges connected to the molestation of a child in their care pleaded guilty in court this week.
Ronald Eugene McDougal, 53, faces up to 17 years, eight months in state prison for the long-term sexual abuse and intimidation of the girl, who was 11 when he first molested her, according to Assistant District Attorney Andrew Isaac, who prosecuted the case.
McDougal’s wife, Faith McDougal, 57, pleaded guilty to a charge of witness intimidation and one count of child endangerment. She could be sent to state prison for three years.
Faith McDougal is the girl’s grandmother by blood, and Ronald McDougal is her grandfather by marriage.
The girl, who recently turned 13, now lives with relatives out of state. Isaac said she is in counseling and did not have to appear in court.
“Her extended family was pleased with the outcome of the case,” Isaac said.
The investigation began last winter, when the girl told a teacher about the sexual abuse. The McDougals were arrested in early January.
“His confession of the abuse was obtained shortly after his arrest,” Isaac said.
The girl and her three siblings were in the McDougals’ care because their father is dead and their mother is incarcerated, according to Isaac.
The other three children also have been placed with relatives in other areas, Isaac said.
“There is absolutely no evidence that any of the other children were molested in any way,” Isaac said.
Faith McDougal learned about the abuse when the girl’s brother showed her a journal detailing the molestation, the prosecutor said.
The McDougals then sat down with the girl and told her to throw her journal in the fireplace and tried to dissuade her from reporting the abuse, Isaac said.
“They basically said, ‘Granddad is going to die in prison if you tell anyone,’” he said.
Ronald McDougal will be sentenced Aug. 2. He will serve at least 15 years of the sentence, Isaac said. Faith McDougal will be sentenced Aug. 31.