Child sex charges against a Pottsville man were held for Schuylkill County Court following a preliminary hearing on Monday morning.
Reginald Spencer, 40, appeared via video conference from Schuylkill County Prison before District Magistrate Judge James Reiley at Monday’s hearing. Spencer is accused of child sex charges after allegedly being found at the Pottsville Motor Inn with a 15-year-old girl on the morning of Jan. 27.
Reiley also denied a motion by Spencer’s attorney, Eric Harakal, to reduce the defendant’s bail. Harakal asked that bail be reduced from $50,000 cash to 10% of $25,000. One condition of the bail was that Spencer would be in the custody or supervision of his family in New York. Members of Spencer’s family were in attendance
Assistant District Attorney Andrew Bench argued that reducing Spencer’s bail on condition that he’d be going to New York was a bad idea. Bench also told Reiley that Spencer had connections in Honduras and asked that his passport be revoked, if he were to make the original bail. The ADA revealed that the prosecution allegedly has 1,500 texts from Spencer with the victim.
In that sense, Reiley did agree to modify bail for Spencer. He was ordered to surrender his passport as soon as possible.
Spencer has been in Schuylkill County Prison since Feb. 3 after police in Pottsville arrested him after he allegedly admitted to having sex with a 15-year-old girl at the Pottsville Motor Inn.
The mother of the girl told police that her daughter went out for a ride early on the morning of Jan. 27. She used the Life360 app to track her whereabouts to the area near Pottsville Motor Inn. Police arrived at the motel and Spencer answered the door. They spotted the girl in the same room.
The victim told police that Spencer had given her some of her medicinal marijuana prior to them having sex that morning. Police say they later found nude images and video that Spencer had sent to the girl.
Spencer is being charged multiple first-degree felonies for statutory sexual assault, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, and unlawful contact with a minor. He’s also facing felony charges of corruption of minors, possessing child sexual abuse material, and criminal use of a communication facility. Misdemeanor charges of indecent assault of a person less than 16 years old, indecent exposure, and corruption of minors have also been filed against Spencer.
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