A former Augusta child psychologist got his head shaved and spent the first night in state prison Thursday night as he began a 5-year sentence for sexual exploiting a child patient.
Kenneth McPherson looks frail in his prison mugshot, which shows him standing awkwardly in front of a height chart while wearing a droopy white T-shirt.
The 65-year-old inmate spent over a week in the Richmond County Detention Center awaiting transfer to the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison in Jackson. He was finally transferred Thursday.
A state prison website says McPherson has a possible release date of Sept. 24, 2026. It also mistakenly lists him as black.
Background. While there were many child sex charges against McPherson dating back decades, he was allowed to plea to one count of sexual exploitation of a child for a case from 2005.
A 9-year-old boy told authorities that he and McPherson took off their clothes during their sessions. Law enforcement searched the psychologist’s office on Central Avenue and found pictures of naked adults and other sexually explicit material. They also seized a photo of the 9-year-old boy, taken while he was nude in McPherson’s office.
He was indicted on seven counts of child molestation and one count of sexual exploitation of a minor. But after a decade of delays, Judge John Flythe accepted a negotiated plea March 1 on the one charge and sentenced him to five years in prison followed by 10 years on probation. McPherson will also have to register as a sex offender.
