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Last updated on Monday, January 23, 2017
(BEDFORD) - A Bedford man was sentenced Friday to 20 years in prison after he was found guilty by a jury of multiple counts of child molestation.
On Friday, Lawrence County Superior Court I Judge Michael Robbins sentenced 72-year-old Raymond Spicer to 20 years in prison with 15 years suspended to probation and house arrest.
In October, a 12-person jury found Spicer guilty of a Class A felony; sexual misconduct with a minor, Level 4 felony; three counts of child molesting, Class C felonies; sexual misconduct with a minor, Class B felony; and sexual misconduct with a minor, Class C felony.
Judge Robbins vacated one of the Class C felony sexual misconduct with a minor charges. All of the other counts shall run concurrent.
According to court records, Spicer was ordered to serve 9 years at the Indiana Department of Corrections. He will receive 87 days jail time credit for days all ready served, meaning he will spend two and a half more years in prison. He will then be released to four years of house arrest in lieu of incarceration. Judge Robbins suspended 11 years to probation; 4 years supervised and the remaining unsupervised. He must also register as a sex offender.
The crime
According to testimony during the trial, on July 24, 2014, a 14-year-old boy called his father to pick him up from Spicer's home. The father told police the son was very upset and said that Spicer had touched him.
When an officer talked with the victims, the boy and his sister say they were at Spicer's home for dinner and a Bible study. When they arrived, the boy sat on Spicer's lap and Spicer started rubbing the boy's back.
The boy then went outside where his sister was until they were called inside for dinner.
The boy's sister and Spicer's wife went upstairs for a Bible study while the boy went to take a nap. He told police that while lying on the couch, Spicer sat down next to him and started rubbing his back and then lower until his hands were down the boy's pants. The boy attempted to get Spicer to stop, but Spicer said 'it's okay' and continued to fondle the boy.
The 14-year-old went upstairs to get his sister's attention, but couldn't, so he called his father. The boy told police this type of incident occurred multiple times during the past two years.
The first incident happened in 2012 when Spicer and the boy were lying down by a fireplace. Spicer instructed the victim to put his hand down Spicer's pants. Similar incidents occurred at least two more times.
Officers spoke with the victim's sister who said Spicer also touched her in 2010 when she was 14 years old. She told police she was lying with Spicer in a hammock at his home. Spicer started rubbing her back, continuously rubbing lower and lower. The sister said Spicer then started rubbing her thigh, up into her skirt, and touched her through her panties.
The sister told Spicer to stop and pushed his hand away, but Spicer continued to fondle her.
A detective also spoke with Spicer's wife, who said the 14-year-old boy always looked up to Spicer and that he loved Spicer. She said the boy would not accuse Spicer of anything unless it was true, the court document states. She said she kicked Spicer out of the home when the boy's father told her of the incidents.
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