A former doctor and Boy Scout leader in Missouri who was convicted of sexually abusing a teenager will be released from prison Tuesday after serving four months behind bars.
Joseph Mackey, 45, who had been sentenced to five years in prison in November after being convicted of statutory sodomy, is expected to be released on probation March 6 after completing a 120-day sex offender program in prison, the Kansas City Star reported.
Jackson County Circuit Court Judge Marco Roldan ordered Mackey’s release after a sex offender program evaluator “hesitantly” recommended that he serve probation.
Mackey admitted to authorities that he sexually abused the teen — whom he knew through scouting activities and as a patient, KCTV reported.
Prosecutors sought to charge Mackey with up to eight counts of second-degree statutory sodomy after he turned himself into authorities in 2015, but the victim said he would accept a guilty plea from his abuser on just one of the counts.
At his perpetrator’s sentencing hearing in November, the victim read a statement in court calling Mackey an “extremely dangerous” man, suggesting that he be locked up “for as long as possible.”
Mike Mansur, a spokesman for the Jackson County prosecutor’s office, said that Mackey’s early release is “not uncommon,” but added that such decisions sometimes cause an outcry from members of the public.
Under the current conditions of Mackey’s probation, he would not be allowed to live or have unsupervised contact with any minors and would have to enter and successfully complete a sex offender treatment program.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.