Daniel McGrath, 58, was released Monday after spending a weekend behind bars.

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Murder suspect's father out on bail in Roseville child porn case

Published: Tuesday, May. 15, 2012 - 12:00 am | Page 1B
Last Modified: Tuesday, May. 15, 2012 - 10:33 am

The father of the Roseville woman briefly jailed on suspicion of killing her daughter is out on bail following his own weekend incarceration on federal child porn charges.

Daniel McGrath, 58, arrested Friday on federal charges of possession of child pornography, was released Monday after posting $200,000 bond and surrendering his passport.

His daughter, Denise McGrath Wilder, remains the prime suspect in the April 4 death of her toddler, McKinley Wilder. No charges have been filed, pending results of a toxicology report.

"They seem to be pretty aged," the father's attorney, Mark Reichel, said of the material found at McGrath's home.

In asking the court to grant McGrath's release on bail, Reichel argued that the most damning material – video from hidden cameras within the home – are at least 18 years old.

He noted that the family is holding together.

"There is no fracturing in this family," Reichel said.

Wilder was in court taking notes and comforting her mother as her father sat wearing an orange jail jumpsuit. Mother and daughter left the court building without making a statement. They declined previous interview requests.

Wilder's attorney, Jess Bedore, said he had no knowledge of the case against McGrath and couldn't say whether or how it affects his case.

Wilder, 37, was arrested April 4 at her father's Diamond Oaks Road home after her 2-year-old daughter, McKinley, was found dead in the early stages of decomposition. The mother was reportedly intoxicated and could not explain what happened to her daughter, according to the complaint.

Mark Wilder, her ex-husband, was granted custody of the couple's 5-year-old daughter.

McGrath and his wife were vacationing in Mexico at the time of the incident, Roseville officials said. And it was McGrath who first notified police that Denise Wilder had been out of contact for several days.

"He is not a suspect in the death of McKinley," said Sgt. Darin DeFreece of the Roseville Police Department. "We did look into when he was gone and when he came back."

But it was during the course of the investigation of McKinley's death that Roseville Police Department sought and received a warrant to search McGrath's home.

"You are going to go on (the computer) and see some underage stuff," McGrath told investigators in a videotaped interview.

McGrath told investigators that he did not distribute the material and that it was from a user group from years ago.

The material on a hard drive, which was not connected to McGrath's computer at the time of the search, was created between 2002 and 2009. The hard drive was most recently accessed on March 31, according to a forensic analysis of the computer.

Reichel said that just because the hard drive was plugged in doesn't mean McGrath viewed the material.

The VHS home movies taken with hidden cameras depict females, apparently minors, in various states of undress.

Possession of child pornography carries a sentence of 10 years. Should McGrath be found guilty of producing child pornography, it would carry a more severe penalty.

© Copyright The Sacramento Bee. All rights reserved.

Read more articles by Ed Fletcher



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