Tampa Man Pleads Guilty To Sexually Abusing 7-Year-Old Child

Tampa, Florida – Acting United States Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow announces that Richmond Joseph McDonald (40, Tampa) has pleaded guilty to enticing a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct. He faces a minimum mandatory term of 10 years, up to life, in federal prison; the sentencing hearing is scheduled for September 28, 2017.

According to the plea agreement, McDonald and his wife, Shauna Maryann Boselli, engaged in sexual activity with a 7-year-old child with the consent of her relative, Jamie Esposito. Esposito had engaged in explicit conversations, via the Internet and text messages, with McDonald and Boselli regarding sexual acts with the victim.

On July 19, 2016, Esposito took the child to Tampa to meet McDonald and Boselli for the purpose of the three of them engaging in sex acts with her. Esposito brought the girl to the zoo in Tampa, where they met with McDonald and Boselli. After spending time at the zoo and taking the child for ice cream, McDonald and Boselli led Esposito and the child to their house in Tampa. While at the house, McDonald sexually abused the child, while Esposito watched. Afterwards, Esposito and the child returned to their hotel in Tampa. Two days later, McDonald and Boselli met with Esposito and the child at their hotel where McDonald and Boselli engaged in sex acts with the child.

Federal agents executed a federal search warrant at McDonald’s residence and seized numerous electronic devices and the vehicle that McDonald and Boselli had used in the commission of the offense. Forensic analyses of the devices revealed that McDonald possessed more than 1,300 images depicting child pornography, including images and videos of the 7-year-old girl performing sex acts.

Esposito and Boselli previously pleaded guilty for their roles in this case and are awaiting sentencing. Each faces a minimum mandatory penalty of 10 years, up to life, in federal prison.

This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Lisa M. Thelwell and Josephine W. Thomas.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.