Monroeville Man Sentenced to Life in Prison for Exchanging Vapes for Sex with 13-Year-Old

MOBILE, AL - Joseph Mitchell McDonald, age 60, was sentenced to life in prison after entering a guilty plea to Sex Trafficking of Children on February 6, 2026.
According to court documents, in March 2025, McDonald was found to be sexually abusing a 13-year-old girl. The child was interviewed and reported that McDonald would give her vapes in exchange for sex acts. McDonald admitted that he provided the child with vapes in exchange for sex acts and her silence about the sex acts. McDonald admitted that the child was 12 years old when the abuse began.

At sentencing, United States District Judge Steele imposed a life sentence of incarceration and a 15-year term of supervised release in the unlikely event that McDonald is ever released from prison. During his term of imprisonment, McDonald will be subject to sex offender treatment and mental health treatment. McDonald will be required to register as a sex offender and is to have no contact with minors. McDonald was ordered to pay $100 in special assessments.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Monroe County Sheriff's Office investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kacey Chappelear prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.
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 the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, 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.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc/publications-resources