Public Safety

Former Fox Run youth-center CEO faces federal charges after Columbus court appearance

Columbus, Ohio • October 26, 2026 • By Press Pass USA

Editorial illustration: the exterior of a federal courthouse in Columbus, Ohio

Editorial illustration — Press Pass USA

The former chief executive of one of Ohio's largest residential treatment centers for children appeared Monday in federal court in Columbus on federal child pornography and sexual abuse charges, federal officials said.

Randall Mackendrick, who served as CEO of the Fox Run Center for Children and Adolescents in St. Clairsville, was arrested in West Virginia and appeared in federal court in Columbus on Monday, the Columbus Dispatch reported. He is represented by the federal public defender's office. The facility treats boys ages 5 to 12 and girls ages 12 to 17.

Federal authorities charged Mackendrick with possession of child pornography, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, and attempted coercion and enticement of a minor, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. The charges are allegations, and Mackendrick is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.

The case grew out of a North Ridgeville police sting: in June, Mackendrick allegedly began communicating with officers posing as an underage girl, traveled to central Ohio in June for a planned meeting that did not take place, and in August drove about three hours to a North Ridgeville park to meet the fictitious girl, where police arrested him. Belmont County sheriff's detectives later searched his office, home and electronic devices and found more than 30 images and eight videos depicting child sexual abuse, the Dispatch reported. In September, a state court revoked his bond after authorities said evidence showed he had been texting a 17-year-old girl who lived at Fox Run while he was CEO.

Separately, federal officials said in October that Mackendrick is a suspect in the rape and kidnapping of a 14-year-old girl in Perry County, and that his DNA matches DNA recovered from the victim. That investigation is ongoing, and no charges in that case had been announced as of Monday.

Sources: Columbus Dispatch (Oct 26, 2026); The Marshall Project, background on the Fox Run case and Mackendrick's August arrest.