A Pottsville man will spend the next 15-30 years in state prison after agreeing to a plea deal on charges he sexually assaulted a teenage girl earlier this year.
Reginald Spencer, 41, sat mostly emotionless as Schuylkill County Judge William Burke imposed his sentence Monday afternoon in Courtroom 3.
Spencer agreed to plead guilty to two felony charges of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a person less than 16 years old. Each charge carries a sentence of 7½-15 years, which Burke imposed consecutively.
In addition to his prison term, Spencer must also register on Megan’s List for the remainder of his life. A pre-sentence investigation did find that Spencer was not a sexually violent predator.
In exchange for his guilty pleas on those two charges, several others were dismissed, including felony counts of statutory sexual assault, unlawful contact with a minor, corruption of minors, criminal use of a communication facility, and possession of child sexual abuse material. He also was charged with misdemeanor counts of corruption of minors, indecent exposure, and indecent assault of a person less than 16 years old.
Senior Deputy District Attorney Jen Foose told Burke that law enforcement and the victim’s family were satisfied with the plea deal reached with Spencer.
Back on Jan. 27, police in Pottsville found Spencer with a 15-year-old girl at the Pottsville Motor Inn.
The girl had been reported missing by her mother but was found at the motel using the Life360 app.
When police questioned the girl, whom they found in a room with Spencer, she said he told her he was 20 when they first met and he offered to give her a ride.
At the motel, police say the girl said that when they arrived, Spencer rolled a joint and they both smoked at least some of it. Although she said she didn’t remember much after taking a few hits from the joint, she did remember them engaging in sexual intercourse.
Police said that Spencer claimed that it was the girl who lied about her age, saying she was in college. Through their investigation, police also learned that Spencer sent nude photos and a video of himself to the girl and begged for her to send him photos.
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