Former Pa. elected official sentenced in assault of 103-year-old woman
RADNOR TOWNSHIP, Pennsylvania -- A former elected leader from Pennsylvania was sentenced to two years probation and 60 days of home monitoring for the indecent assault of a 103-year-old woman.
Former Radnor Township Commissioner William Spingler was sentenced Thursday. Spingler was found guilty in June of indecent assault on a person with a mental disability.
The victim was related to Spingler through a previous marriage. Officials said the victim was 103 years old and suffered from dementia and other physical limitations.
Employees at the Wayne Center nursing home reported seeing 75-year-old Spingler of Paoli touching the elderly victim in an inappropriate manner on three separate occasions last year.
Spingler is a long-time, well-known public servant on the Philadelphia Main Line. He was first elected to the Radnor Board of Commissioners in 1969 and retired as its president in 2015.
On December 16, 2016, police were called to the nursing home on West Avenue in Wayne after an employee said she witnessed Spingler touching the victim on her chest in a sexual manner.
The next day employees told police it happened again.
According to the criminal complaint, an employee saw the victim with "a blanket pulled up to her shoulders and witnessed Spingler using his right hand under the blanket to massage her chest area in an inappropriate way not to be mistaken for any assistance of any kind."
Both times, Spingler immediately left the facility when he noticed employees watching him.
Then on December 23, a registered nurse told police she witnessed Spingler grabbing the victim's chest while the victim looked uncomfortable and tried to pull away.
The victim had difficulty walking. Authorities said she could not have defended herself against unwanted physical contact, and was totally dependent on nursing home staff.
Following that third incident, Spingler was arrested and charged with three counts of indecent assault on a person with a mental disability.
