CONVICTED RAPIST FOUND GUILTY OF ASSAULT AND THE ATTEMPTED KIDNAPPING OF A 26 YEAR OLD HEALTH INSPECTOR

Bronx District Attorney Robert T. Johnson announced today that a 54 year old convicted rapist was found guilty last night on new charges of assault and the attempted kidnapping of a 26 year old Bronx woman in the Summer of 2005.

A jury convicted Donald McKinnon of one count of Assault in the 1st degree, one count of Attempted Kidnapping in the 2nd degree and one count of Criminal Possession of Stolen Property in the 5th degree in connection with a violent confrontation at a church run day camp facility.

State Supreme Court Justice Richard Lee Price set sentencing for Wednesday, May 23, 2007 in Part T16. McKinnon, who served 11 years in prison on a 1988 rape conviction in Brooklyn, is facing 25 years imprisonment on the new assault conviction and 15 years imprisonment on the attempted kidnapping charge. If the judge orders that McKinnon serve consecutive terms he could be imprisoned for up to 40 years.

The crime occurred on August 17, 2005 at the Baptist House of Prayer at 724 Prospect Avenue. The defendant lived in a room above the church. His victim was an inspector for the Department of Health who went to the church’s on site day camp to check for compliance with department regulations. The victim arrived at the site before it had opened. McKinnon let her in and allowed her to wait in a kitchen area until the day camp staff arrived. McKinnon engaged the young woman in small talk before he pulled a knife with one hand and grabbed her neck with the other. Although he was choking her, the woman fought back and resisted the defendant’s attempt to force her upstairs to his living quarters. She managed to disarm McKinnon and started stabbing him in the arm with his own knife. In an effort to force her to drop the knife, McKinnon bit the woman in the arm twice before she pushed him away and broke free. The defendant fled a short time later, but police officers with a blood hound found him hiding in a nearby alley.

The case is being prosecuted by Senior Trial Assistant District Attorney Lisa Mattaway.