Retired Illinois Math Teacher Charged after Arranging Sex with Teen in Waukesha

A former junior high math teacher from Illinois is facing charges after he was arrested in Waukesha after arranging to meet and have sex with who he thought was a teenage girl.

Donald P. McDowell, 65, of Oswego, Ill., was charged in Waukesha County Circuit Court Thursday with one count of use of a computer to facilitate a child sex crime and one count of possession of child pornography. If convicted, he faces up to 65 years in prison and $200,000 in fines.

According to the criminal complaint:

A Waukesha police department detective was working undercover as a 14-year-old girl in an Internet chat room on June 1 when he made contact with McDowell. McDowell asked for pictures of the girl, which the detective sent him, then McDowell sent pictures back.

The two communicated again on June 3 and 4 and eventually agreed to meet at a Waukesha hotel to have sex and film it. McDowell asked if the girl was a cop, saying “I watch 60 Minutes,” but the detective assured him he wasn’t.

McDowell made reservations at the hotel and showed up Tuesday where he checked in and then left. He was pulled over shortly afterward by police. Inside his car they found sex paraphernalia and a laptop computer which contained child pornography images.

McDowell told police he’s a retired junior high school math teacher and was supposed to meet with a man named “Tim” so he could have sex with his daughter. He said he thought about canceling the rendezvous on the ride.

He said he hadn’t plan to have sex with the girl anymore, but continued to Waukesha so he could see what kind of man Tim was.

McDowell is currently being held in Waukesha County Jail on $100,000 bond.