February 21, 2026

Monroeville Man Pleads Guilty to Sex Trafficking After He’s Caught by His Wife

By Dale Hines
Blue RAM Media/Gulf Coast News

February 21, 2026

MOBILE AL.

A man accused of sexually abusing a teenage girl and being caught by his wife has decided to forgo a trial and instead, pleaded guilty to federal sex trafficking charges.

According to court records, Joseph Mitchell McDonald’s wife caught him with the 13-year-old girl in March last year. McDonald, 60, of Monroeville, admitted that he bought the girl vapes in exchange for sex.

Originally, McDonald had asked for a trial which was scheduled for this month and, but the prosecution was notified that the defendant had a change of heart and would plead guilty.

Instead, McDonald entered his plea before a magistrate judge, who formally accepted it on Wednesday. He will be sentenced on May 5. The U.S. Attorney’s Office agreed to recommend a sentence at the bottom of the range set forth under advisory guidelines.

There was a legal issue involved around interpretation of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act but the plain language of the statute requires a child to be trafficked in the sex industry for commercial gain in interstate commerce or in a way that substantially affects interstate commerce,” defense attorney Michael Hickman wrote in a legal filing.

McDonald now faces 15 years to life in prison.