Shopping-Mall `Santa' Pleads Guilty To Rape -- Sentence Could Be 20-26 1/2 Years

Ronald C. McDonald, the 71-year-old man who played Santa Claus for more than a decade in the Lake Forest Park area, pleaded guilty in King County Superior Court today of raping and molesting four children.

The formal admission came as no surprise. When McDonald entered not-guilty pleas to the crimes 12 days ago, his attorney said it was just a formality and that McDonald planned to take full responsibility for his crimes.

"He's distraught, remorseful, somewhat overwhelmed. And he definitely wants to take responsibility for what he's done," attorney Michael Danko said. "Factually, he's guilty. . . . There's no question in his mind - nor mine."

The plea agreement means McDonald could receive between 20 and 26 1/2 years in prison. King County Senior Deputy Prosecutor Scott O'Toole said he has not yet decided whether to ask for a longer sentence, but, given McDonald's age, it's not likely he would do so.

McDonald, wearing jail clothes, made no comments in court today other than to say he is guilty. Sentencing was set for Jan. 9.

McDonald is charged with four counts of child rape and three counts of child molestation involving victims aged 7, 6, 4 and 1. He has admitted to molesting the 6-year-old since she was 2 months old.

A father of five, McDonald worked as a maintenance worker at the University of Washington Medical Center from 1959 to 1982. Since his arrest Oct. 14, he has told authorities that he has raped or

molested at least 45 children over the past 60 years.

The revelations about the popular neighbor - whose white hair and glasses prompted children to call him Santa year-round - came as a shock to many who knew McDonald as a trusted baby-sitter, a church volunteer and a holiday Santa at the Lake Forest Park Towne Centre mall.

But according to court documents and his own statements, McDonald was a pedophile who charmed parents with his Santa persona, then charmed their children with dolls and child videos.

"What I did was the lowest of the low. I had been deceiving myself and deceiving others," he said in an Oct. 23 interview at the King County Jail. "I have devastated so many children and families."

McDonald has said that all the abuses took place in his home and that he molested no children at his work as a janitor, at the church where he baby-sat or at the mall where he played Santa.

His family members, in a statement released earlier, said they were suffering: "Members of our family have confronted our father, Ronald McDonald, and we are still learning to deal with this terrible tragedy that has affected so many lives."

Ronald K. Fitten's phone message number is 206-464-3251. His e-mail address is: ronf-new@seatimes.com