CLEARFIELD – After deliberating for almost six hours, a jury remained deadlocked in a trial for a Clearfield man accused of molesting two young girls.
Lance Edward Spencer, 37, was charged by Clearfield Regional Police with aggravated indecent assault and indecent assault, both felonies, along with two misdemeanor counts each of corruption of minors and indecent assault in relation to incidents in 2010 and 2022. The case included two different victims.
After multiple questions from the jury, around 6:45 p.m. Senior Judge Oliver J. Lobaugh of Venango County, who was presiding over the case, explained to them that if they could not agree on a verdict, the district attorney would have to decide whether to retry the case, a new jury would be picked and it would be an expense to the county. He then asked them to keep trying to reach a unanimous verdict.
A mistrial was declared about two hours later when they remained deadlocked on all charges.
During the two-day trial, both victims testified and had similar recollections of their experiences.
This is a summary of the testimony.
The first victim was five years old when Spencer allegedly put the naked girl in an empty bathtub and touched her private area. At the time, this was reported to Clearfield County Children, Family and Youth Services. After an investigation, it was determined the allegation was unfounded. The girl reported the same assault several different times over the years.
The initial investigation started after the mother saw the girl jump when she was giving her a bath and touched near that same area a few days later.
During her testimony, the girl started to cry after she identified Spencer in the courtroom.
The second victim who was 10-years-old when she said she was assaulted, was watching television with Spencer and her younger brother when she alleges Spencer put his hand down her pants and digitally penetrated her. Afterwards she said it hurt when she urinated.
This victim did not tell anyone about this until about 14 months later in Oct. 2023.
Her father testified that around the time of the alleged assault, she began to act out.
“It was like she had a demon in her” and she was not the same girl, he stated to the court.
Spencer testified in his own defense saying he never touched either girl in the way they described. He was adamant that he could not have committed these crimes as he was never alone with either one of them.
Other defense witnesses including people that lived with him and other children at various times testified that they never saw Spencer be inappropriate with any child.
In his closing arguments, Ken Pennington, defense attorney for Spencer, pointed out that the first victim didn’t have many details in her accusation. He also noted discrepancies in the second victim’s timeline as to when the assault occurred. She tied it to a woman having surgery in Aug. 2022 while the woman testified she didn’t have surgery until Dec. 2022.
There are no eye witnesses to any of these allegations, any physical or medical evidence, he said.
Deputy District Attorney Tami Fees, in her closing, highlighted the similarities in the two girls’ stories, even though they never met.
“The only thing they have in common is Mr. Spencer,” she said, adding that he was someone they both trusted.
The first victim continued to tell the same story for years and reacted with tears when she had to identify him, she reminded the jurors.
Fees defended the second victim by saying her story was consistent as to the touching, even though she may have not been clear on other details.
After the deadlock was announced, Fees stated that she will be retrying the case.
