Futures and Commodity Market News

Sat Nov 21, 2009

Breaking financial news 24/7 courtesy of TradingCharts.com Inc. / TFC Commodity Charts

DECATUR, Nov 07, 2009 (Herald and Review - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Former Warrensburg police officer Douglas H. Spensley, 42, of Decatur has been charged by a federal grand jury with production and possession of child pornography.

Spensley continues to face one count of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child and two counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse for allegedly molesting a 9-year-old girl that were filed in Macon County Circuit Court last month.

Macon County First Assistant State's Attorney Jay Scott said Friday that Spensley will be prosecuted locally on the state charges while the U.S. attorney will handle the pornography allegations.

Warrensburg Police Chief Greg Wheeler said Friday that Spensley had resigned as a part-time village police officer. Spensley was placed on unpaid administrative leave following his arrest by Decatur police last month.

Spensley has been free after posting $50,000 cash bail on his $500,000 bond set in state court. That freedom ended at least temporarily Thursday when he was arrested by U.S. marshals and appeared in U.S. District Court in Urbana for arraignment on the new charges.

Spensley entered a plea of not guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge David G. Bernthal, who scheduled a trial on the charges for Jan. 11. He also entered a temporary order of detention, and Spensley was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service until a hearing Tuesday to determine if he will remain incarcerated pending trial.

A news release issued Friday from the office of acting U.S. Attorney Jeffrey B. Lang of the Central District of Illinois stated the grand jury returned its indictment against Spensley on Tuesday, but that document was sealed, pending his arrest and appearance in court.

The indictment alleged that from Oct. 1, 2008, through Oct. 9, 2009, Spensley coerced a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct to produce a visual depiction of that conduct. It alleged Spensley possessed images of child pornography Oct. 9 and seeks criminal forfeiture of cameras, computer equipment and related items used in the commission of the alleged offenses.

The federal charges are the result of an investigation by a Decatur Police Department detective assigned to a working group of officers assisting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elly M. Peirson is prosecuting the federal case in cooperation with the Macon County State's Attorney's Office.

Conviction of production of child pornography carries a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years in prison up to 30 years in prison. Possession of child pornography carries a penalty of up to 10 years in prison. The offenses also carry terms of up to life on supervised release following any term of imprisonment.

ringram@herald-review.com 421-7973

To see more of Herald & Review, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to
http://www.herald-review.com Copyright (c) 2009, Herald and Review, Decatur,
Ill. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email
tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax
to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave.,
Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.

Ron Ingram

Copyright (C) 2009, Herald and Review, Decatur, Ill.

Please read the End User Agreement.
By accessing this page, you agree to the terms and conditions of the End User Agreement.

News provided by COMTEX