FILE PHOTO: Uganda prosecutor says U.S. couple accused of torturing child is a flight risk in Kampala
Wed, December 21, 2022 at 9:23 AM EST
In this article:
- Nicholas Spencer
American politician
KAMPALA (Reuters) -A U.S. couple detained in Uganda on charges of aggravated torture of a 10-year-old boy face an additional charge of aggravated child trafficking which carries the death penalty if they are convicted, the state prosecutor said on Wednesday.
Nicholas Spencer and his wife, Mackenzie Leigh Mathias Spencer, both 32, have been in custody in Uganda since Dec. 9 after they were charged with aggravated torture of the child who was living in their home under foster care in the capital Kampala. They have pleaded not guilty to that charge.
The new charge sheet seen by Reuters on Wednesday showed the couple have additionally been charged with "aggravated trafficking in children". They have yet to enter a plea on that.
A lawyer for the couple, who was not identified, was quoted by Ugandan newspaper the Monitor as dismissing the case as a "fishing expedition" by authorities, saying they had no evidence. She was quoted as saying the new charge "doesn't make sense".
Attempts by Reuters to reach a lawyer for them via the court and the prosecutors' office were not immediately successful.
Prosecutors accuse the couple of having recruited, transported and kept the child through "abuse of position of vulnerability for purposes of exploitation", according to the charge sheet.
The couple moved to Uganda in 2017 and took in three foster children. They are accused of forcing the 10-year old to remain naked, without shoes, to squat in uncomfortable positions and was only fed cold food from the refrigerator. Accounts vary as to whether he was made to sleep on a wooden platform or on a bare mattress without sheets or a blanket. The couple characterized the child as "mentally unstable" and filmed him constantly. The boy attended a school for children with special needs. A caretaker reported them to authorities and provided evidence. The couple are being kept in a maximum security prison as their visas have expired and they are considered a flight risk. They argued that they should be released on bail due to their individual health problems but the judge told them that there aren't any medical conditions that can't be treated in prison. The husband used to work for Congressman Trey Gowdy. He and the wife now work for a Ugandan start up company, MOTIV Uganda. Of course they have a GoFundMe page.
If true they NEED that Brazilian/Hatian/Columbian type street justice...