A Pennsylvania man accused of repeatedly r@ping an underage girl is facing 5,538 criminal charges, in what prosecutors say may be the largest number of charges filed in a single case in the state.
According to court records, 37-year-old Nicholas Allen Spencer faces thousands of mostly felony charges, including rape, rape threats, statutory s3xual assault, aggravated indecent assault without consent, forcible compulsion and threats of forcible compulsion. Prosecutors allege the victim told police that Spencer r@ped her almost daily over several years before a friend persuaded her to report the abuse. Nearly 4,000 of the charges are felonies.
Tami Fees, the Clearfield County Deputy District Attorney, described the case as likely the largest of its kind in the county and possibly across Pennsylvania. “Probably our largest case ever,” Fees told TMZ.
Fees said prosecutors want Spencer to be held accountable and that her ultimate goal is to have him imprisoned for life, arguing that the alleged abuse robbed the victim of her childhood innocence and could have lasting consequences for her.
The alleged victim was younger than 16 and told authorities she believed the abuse began when she was about 12 years old. Spencer was charged on Tuesday and transferred to Clearfield County Prison, where he is expected to remain pending his preliminary hearing on August 12.