Ex-city council candidate sentenced for molesting 10-year-old girl with autism
A former Hampton City Council candidate was sentenced to prison after pleading guilty to molesting a 10-year-old girl with autism.
Edward Spencer, 61, was convicted Wednesday of two counts of child molestation and ordered to spend the first 18 years of his 30-year sentence in prison, the Henry County District Attorney’s Office said Thursday in a statement.
Additionally, he must register as a sex offender, have no contact with the victim or her family and spend the remainder of his sentence on probation.
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According to prosecutors, Spencer admitted to molesting the girl as she slept inside her Hampton home in July 2018.
“Mr. Spencer targeted this victim because of her age and disability,” DA Darius Pattillo said in the statement. “We will not tolerate predators like this in our community and we will continue to aggressively prosecute them.”
Spencer unsuccessfully ran for one of three at-large seats on the City Council in 2017. According to information he provided at the time for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s voter guide, he was employed as a manager for Waffle House.
“He was terminated in July 2018 and was a restaurant manager for us at that time,” the company said in a statement. “Since it’s a personnel issue, we cannot go into further details.”
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About the Author
Asia Simone Burns is a watchdog reporter for the AJC. Burns was formerly an intern in AJC’s newsroom and now writes about crime. She is a graduate of Samford University and has previously reported for NPR and WABE, Atlanta’s NPR member station.
