WEBVTT - The Aftermath | Jenifer's Story 0:00:00.280 --> 0:00:04.360 This podcast discusses sexual assault. Please take care while listening. 0:00:07.120 --> 0:00:11.320 On December thirtieth, twenty twelve, Spencer Heron and Jennifer Fason 0:00:11.440 --> 0:00:12.000 were married. 0:00:12.560 --> 0:00:17.520 Let us pray, God of all love and mercy, make 0:00:17.600 --> 0:00:21.640 this a sacred place wholly by your presence and by 0:00:21.680 --> 0:00:25.600 the love that we celebrate today. Help us to find 0:00:25.640 --> 0:00:28.400 in this couple's love and laughter the love and laughter 0:00:28.480 --> 0:00:29.600 you share for us. 0:00:30.760 --> 0:00:32.720 Amen, Jennifer. 0:00:32.760 --> 0:00:35.560 Ever since I saw you walk into that hotel lobby 0:00:35.640 --> 0:00:38.280 last year, I've known what I'm supposed to do with 0:00:38.320 --> 0:00:41.680 the rest of my life. I feel beyond honor to 0:00:41.720 --> 0:00:44.280 know you, to love you, and to accept the most 0:00:44.320 --> 0:00:46.720 privilege of all things being your husband. 0:00:47.760 --> 0:00:51.960 Nearly six years later, on August sixteenth, twenty eighteen, Heron 0:00:52.000 --> 0:00:54.880 was indicted on five counts of sexual assault by a 0:00:54.920 --> 0:00:57.840 teacher on school property in Cobb County, Georgia. 0:00:58.640 --> 0:01:00.960 You will never have to question my love devotion to you, 0:01:01.200 --> 0:01:03.040 because there's nothing else that I want to spend my 0:01:03.120 --> 0:01:06.080 time doing except showing you those things. I am so 0:01:06.160 --> 0:01:06.720 in love with you. 0:01:07.240 --> 0:01:11.399 Nearly nine months later, on April eighth, twenty nineteen, Spencer 0:01:11.440 --> 0:01:14.520 was indicted for sexually assaulting the same student in a 0:01:14.560 --> 0:01:19.000 hotel in Turkey County, Georgia. Spencer told the victim to 0:01:19.040 --> 0:01:22.960 stay down in an effort to hide her while driving 0:01:22.959 --> 0:01:25.560 her from Kel High School to a hotel. 0:01:27.959 --> 0:01:30.800 Having witnessed the covenant that you have made today and 0:01:30.880 --> 0:01:34.280 celebrated the love that you share, it is my privilege 0:01:34.280 --> 0:01:37.160 to pronounce you husband and wife. 0:01:37.400 --> 0:01:49.240 You may kiss. 0:01:49.440 --> 0:01:55.720 I'm Andrea Gunning and this is a trayal Episode two. 0:01:56.520 --> 0:01:57.320 The aftermath. 0:02:04.360 --> 0:02:08.640 The judge set a fifty five thousand dollars cash bond, 0:02:09.880 --> 0:02:13.239 so we couldn't get him out if we tried, couldn't 0:02:13.240 --> 0:02:15.720 put the house up or anything like that. Fifty five 0:02:15.760 --> 0:02:19.640 thousand dollars is a lot of money, so he stayed 0:02:19.680 --> 0:02:24.160 in jail. It was almost like a wake, almost like 0:02:24.240 --> 0:02:28.280 someone had died, because people just kept coming over. 0:02:28.800 --> 0:02:31.919 In the days after the news broke, Jennifer and Spencer's 0:02:31.960 --> 0:02:36.040 friend group were in disbelief and rallied around her. Her 0:02:36.120 --> 0:02:38.840 friend Danielle was one of the first people Jennifer reached 0:02:38.840 --> 0:02:42.200 out to, and upon hearing the news, Danielle drove straight 0:02:42.240 --> 0:02:43.120 to Jennifer's house. 0:02:43.400 --> 0:02:46.240 Oh what the fuck. I couldn't wrap my head around 0:02:46.400 --> 0:02:49.000 there being any truth to it. All I could do 0:02:49.120 --> 0:02:51.120 was just be there for her and let her know 0:02:51.680 --> 0:02:53.960 that she had a huge community who was not going 0:02:54.040 --> 0:02:54.720 to let her down. 0:02:55.200 --> 0:02:59.519 Jen's neighbor Jail knew Spence, and she just couldn't process it. 0:03:00.160 --> 0:03:01.520 Like no, no, no, no, nope. 0:03:01.720 --> 0:03:03.560 It was like her calling me and speaking to me 0:03:03.639 --> 0:03:06.520 in Mandarin because I was just like, I don't know 0:03:06.560 --> 0:03:08.040 what you're saying to me right now. 0:03:08.600 --> 0:03:11.919 Spencer's moogshot was all over the news, not just an Atworth, 0:03:12.000 --> 0:03:16.520 but nationally and internationally. There was no hiding it. Jennifer 0:03:16.600 --> 0:03:18.919 had to deal with the shame of what her husband 0:03:19.000 --> 0:03:24.920 had done. The victim told investigators that during the summer 0:03:25.000 --> 0:03:27.920 of twenty sixteen, Spencer met with her at school several 0:03:27.960 --> 0:03:31.600 times for a non existent school club meeting. She said 0:03:31.600 --> 0:03:33.440 that he would text her and tell her when he 0:03:33.440 --> 0:03:36.040 would be at the school and where to find him. 0:03:36.320 --> 0:03:38.200 That would give her a reason to be at Kel 0:03:38.280 --> 0:03:43.000 High School. Spencer began groping the victim on several different occasions, 0:03:43.280 --> 0:03:47.920 and his behavior continued into the fall semester. Law enforcement 0:03:48.000 --> 0:03:51.280 also learned that in twenty seventeen, Spencer started having sexual 0:03:51.320 --> 0:03:54.880 relations with the student inside the school on multiple occasions. 0:03:55.640 --> 0:04:00.400 She was a sophomore. She provided some devastating des details 0:04:00.400 --> 0:04:03.360 that were contained in the criminal warrant as a warning. 0:04:04.040 --> 0:04:07.720 Some of them are difficult to hear. For example, when 0:04:07.760 --> 0:04:10.520 she began crying because it hurt, Spencer told her to 0:04:10.520 --> 0:04:14.640 be quiet. Also, he insisted that he not used protection 0:04:14.880 --> 0:04:17.039 because he was quote unquote fixed. 0:04:17.720 --> 0:04:20.360 You know, it was sickening to know that the accusation 0:04:20.520 --> 0:04:24.240 was coming from someone the same age as his youngest. 0:04:24.920 --> 0:04:27.560 That was really difficult for us. How do you wrap 0:04:27.600 --> 0:04:28.240 your head around that? 0:04:29.120 --> 0:04:32.280 And there were plenty of people who couldn't channel. 0:04:32.080 --> 0:04:33.920 Woos Lauren pos and talked to one of his former 0:04:33.920 --> 0:04:37.000 students tonight. She's live outside the Cobb County jail, was 0:04:37.080 --> 0:04:37.760 what she learned. 0:04:37.960 --> 0:04:41.000 People we spoke with are skeptical of the charges because 0:04:41.000 --> 0:04:43.720 you don't always know what's the truth is. The two 0:04:43.800 --> 0:04:46.000 former students who did not want to go on camera 0:04:46.160 --> 0:04:48.920 told me Haron was a great coach and teacher. The 0:04:48.960 --> 0:04:52.120 other student added Haron was a professional and kind hearted. 0:04:52.240 --> 0:04:55.760 She told me she does not believe the allegations are true. 0:04:57.279 --> 0:05:01.680 But Jennifer knew they were true. Spencer had admitted it. 0:05:02.520 --> 0:05:05.960 Now she was confronted with something else. Two days after 0:05:06.000 --> 0:05:10.599 Spencer's arrest, Jennifer uncovered a dark secret life. Her husband 0:05:10.640 --> 0:05:15.600 had been living a trove of her husband's lovers, sex partners, 0:05:15.640 --> 0:05:18.240 and prostitutes that dated back to the beginning of their 0:05:18.279 --> 0:05:24.279 marriage and beyond. He kept everything, photos, videos, emails, and 0:05:24.320 --> 0:05:27.200 text exchanges between him and at least fifty other women 0:05:27.400 --> 0:05:28.400 littered his computer. 0:05:31.640 --> 0:05:35.240 She had gotten into his email to reset the password 0:05:35.400 --> 0:05:37.880 for his Facebook, and that's when she was able to 0:05:37.920 --> 0:05:42.080 shut down his social media. She was just looking to 0:05:42.120 --> 0:05:48.080 protect him, protect him, protect the family. But once she 0:05:48.200 --> 0:05:51.000 logged into his email, it was over and there's just 0:05:51.040 --> 0:05:54.080 no going back. I don't think that anybody expected for 0:05:54.160 --> 0:06:01.960 her to find what she found. I call it his 0:06:02.120 --> 0:06:08.159 trophy case. It was an entire catalog of emails and 0:06:08.200 --> 0:06:13.840 correspondents with women years and years and years. I mean, 0:06:13.880 --> 0:06:18.840 he saved everything. He saved the rejection emails, he saved 0:06:19.200 --> 0:06:23.000 every photo, He backed up the photos that he got 0:06:23.080 --> 0:06:27.640 from his Facebook. He was not who we thought he was. 0:06:28.080 --> 0:06:30.800 She told us that she was going to file for divorce. 0:06:31.760 --> 0:06:37.240 Spence was literally living a double life. On one hand, 0:06:39.080 --> 0:06:47.080 he's living as the perfect, doting, loving husband, great father, 0:06:48.800 --> 0:06:54.640 teacher of the year. Air Force banned he was even 0:06:54.680 --> 0:06:55.760 an Eagle scout. 0:06:56.800 --> 0:06:59.960 Jennifer's sister Chrissy, was the voice of reason and probably 0:07:00.080 --> 0:07:01.679 understood Jennifer better than anyone. 0:07:02.480 --> 0:07:05.720 She had discovered all of the other women and the emails, 0:07:05.800 --> 0:07:09.400 and I think she was obsessed about that because it 0:07:09.440 --> 0:07:13.280 was easier than actually being sad about it. She only 0:07:13.320 --> 0:07:14.960 showed me one thing because I just don't want to 0:07:14.960 --> 0:07:17.320 see I didn't need to see it, but I think 0:07:17.440 --> 0:07:21.480 she had to because it was Spencer. You still don't 0:07:21.520 --> 0:07:22.160 believe it. 0:07:23.040 --> 0:07:26.280 Jennifer and Spence got married on December thirtieth, twenty twelve. 0:07:27.360 --> 0:07:31.640 She found photos of fourteen different women, many of them nude, 0:07:31.920 --> 0:07:33.600 within the first year of their marriage. 0:07:35.360 --> 0:07:39.120 There were two that I knew. One is someone who 0:07:39.120 --> 0:07:42.800 became friends of ours through the wine bar. Her and 0:07:42.840 --> 0:07:45.480 her husband would come in pretty regularly. 0:07:45.800 --> 0:07:48.760 The wine bar. It was a big part of Jennifer 0:07:48.800 --> 0:07:51.720 and Spence's life. It had been a dream of Jennifer's 0:07:51.760 --> 0:07:52.280 to own one. 0:07:55.080 --> 0:07:58.200 Spencer and I talked about opening a coffee shop when 0:07:58.240 --> 0:08:01.360 we first moved here, because Atworth has this small town 0:08:01.440 --> 0:08:07.920 feel and it's got this great main street. It somehow 0:08:08.400 --> 0:08:12.239 evolved into a wine bar, which we opened and had 0:08:12.280 --> 0:08:17.240 for two years. This was a place where the neighborhood 0:08:17.280 --> 0:08:20.360 really came together. All we had to do was open 0:08:20.440 --> 0:08:24.320 up the doors and the neighborhood just came in and 0:08:24.360 --> 0:08:27.840 they introduced themselves and they hung out and we all 0:08:27.920 --> 0:08:34.120 just became friends and this really great community. Having that 0:08:34.240 --> 0:08:39.599 wine bar was a way to play hostess to the neighborhood. 0:08:41.200 --> 0:08:44.600 And it turns out it was also a sexual playground 0:08:44.600 --> 0:08:49.560 for Spencer, who found new prospects, seduced women, and even 0:08:49.800 --> 0:08:51.439 had sex here. 0:08:51.600 --> 0:08:57.360 I think we just have this great bar, and Spence 0:08:58.000 --> 0:09:04.240 was basically using it as his I have seen messages 0:09:04.679 --> 0:09:08.320 where he says, while that blowjob you gave me in 0:09:08.360 --> 0:09:13.319 the bathroom last night was amazing, or photos of somebody 0:09:13.400 --> 0:09:16.440 in the bathroom taking a picture of herself and sending 0:09:16.480 --> 0:09:19.560 it to him. He used to put a sign on 0:09:19.640 --> 0:09:22.079 the door apparently that said back in five minutes or 0:09:22.120 --> 0:09:25.960 back in ten minutes, and then would have sex in there. 0:09:26.840 --> 0:09:30.520 Jennifer's mother, Gail just couldn't wrap her head around the audacity. 0:09:31.320 --> 0:09:33.160 It's like in my business too. 0:09:33.280 --> 0:09:35.720 I mean, is there no place sacred? 0:09:36.720 --> 0:09:39.319 Unbelievable? It's absolutely unbelievable. 0:09:40.040 --> 0:09:42.640 But there were dozens and he met them in all 0:09:42.720 --> 0:09:46.800 kinds of ways. Jennifer discovered evidence of a year long 0:09:46.840 --> 0:09:49.000 affair with a woman from his running. 0:09:48.679 --> 0:09:52.679 Club, and then another one was in the military with him. 0:09:52.920 --> 0:09:55.360 They were all very different from who Jennifer is as 0:09:55.400 --> 0:09:55.800 a person. 0:09:57.240 --> 0:10:01.000 Spencer juggled multiple conquests at the same time. The affairs 0:10:01.000 --> 0:10:03.679 he was having with the women overlapped, and he stayed 0:10:03.679 --> 0:10:07.320 in touch with them through sordid text exchanges. It's fair 0:10:07.360 --> 0:10:10.200 to assume that people behave differently with secret lovers during 0:10:10.240 --> 0:10:13.200 affairs than they might with their own spouses, but reading 0:10:13.200 --> 0:10:16.000 his text was like reading a novel. He was a 0:10:16.040 --> 0:10:20.959 fictional character. The messages showed that Spencer had secret fetishes. 0:10:21.960 --> 0:10:25.280 Just a warning. The texts are explicit, and maybe the 0:10:25.320 --> 0:10:29.199 most alarming part is realizing that your own partner wrote them, 0:10:29.400 --> 0:10:32.320 and that's what jen faced when she discovered these text messages. 0:10:33.160 --> 0:10:35.959 Note all of the following were sent to adult women. 0:10:37.200 --> 0:10:40.560 Will you actually punch me this time? I'm not fucking around. 0:10:41.920 --> 0:10:46.840 I need you to hurt me. That's the point, the 0:10:47.080 --> 0:10:47.920 entire point. 0:10:49.080 --> 0:10:53.079 Was he into pain or was it the rush? Jennifer 0:10:53.120 --> 0:10:55.440 had no idea because she had no clue that he 0:10:55.559 --> 0:10:58.840 liked to be hit Spencer also liked his lovers to 0:10:58.880 --> 0:11:02.439 refer to him as Daddy. Send outy a picture was 0:11:02.480 --> 0:11:06.840 a frequent request in his fantasy life. Jennifer noticed he 0:11:06.880 --> 0:11:10.360 seemed to enjoy a playful and sometimes not so playful, 0:11:10.679 --> 0:11:14.600 dominating persona. There were other texts where Spencer was in 0:11:14.640 --> 0:11:18.400 touch with former students. Here he keeps trying to persuade 0:11:18.440 --> 0:11:19.720 one of them to get together. 0:11:22.440 --> 0:11:26.000 I remember you being in class. You're always so much 0:11:26.120 --> 0:11:29.600 fun and so sweet. I hope you could tell that 0:11:29.640 --> 0:11:33.720 I was always super fond of you. We have a 0:11:33.760 --> 0:11:40.000 cool connection, your gorgeous fact. We need to hang out. 0:11:41.320 --> 0:11:42.240 I can't wait. 0:11:43.960 --> 0:11:44.600 I dig you. 0:11:46.640 --> 0:11:50.600 Eventually, the young woman asks how are you and your wife? 0:11:50.679 --> 0:11:50.959 Though? 0:11:51.920 --> 0:11:56.560 Okay, I guess you know how relationships are. Can you 0:11:56.640 --> 0:11:59.600 see how I might have a crush on you? 0:11:59.600 --> 0:12:03.560 You know how relationships are. He barely acknowledges the question 0:12:03.720 --> 0:12:06.560 and brings it back to the conversation he really wanted 0:12:06.559 --> 0:12:10.920 to have. In another exchange, he mentions with holding sex 0:12:10.960 --> 0:12:12.120 from Jennifer. 0:12:13.040 --> 0:12:15.480 When I know that we're going to meet, I like 0:12:15.559 --> 0:12:20.280 depriving myself, so I avoid sex with her if it 0:12:20.320 --> 0:12:21.319 even comes up. 0:12:22.000 --> 0:12:26.160 And to another he references tension at home for more excitement. 0:12:27.360 --> 0:12:29.840 By the way, Jen and I are fighting right now, 0:12:30.040 --> 0:12:32.800 so I am in an even freakier and more amped 0:12:32.880 --> 0:12:36.960 up mood to test the waters. And then there was 0:12:37.040 --> 0:12:40.559 this I am a single man for the next six days. 0:12:40.600 --> 0:12:44.400 If you want to hook up, I'm still very interested. 0:12:46.360 --> 0:12:49.000 That's a tech spencer sent when Jennifer was traveling for work. 0:12:49.559 --> 0:12:52.280 But the person Jennifer saw when she returned with someone 0:12:52.440 --> 0:12:53.280 happy to see her. 0:12:53.920 --> 0:12:57.720 He'll be jumping up, you know, saying hi, wife, welcome home. 0:12:58.760 --> 0:13:04.560 It's almost like an outer body experience, because you can't 0:13:04.600 --> 0:13:10.440 prepare yourself for something like that, especially when it's the 0:13:10.640 --> 0:13:12.640 last thing you expect to happen. 0:13:22.600 --> 0:13:25.240 Jennifer needed to get away from it all, so she 0:13:25.360 --> 0:13:27.200 went to stay with her sister in La. 0:13:28.040 --> 0:13:30.200 During the time that she stayed with me, she went 0:13:30.320 --> 0:13:31.600 from angry to. 0:13:31.760 --> 0:13:33.000 Really, really fat. 0:13:34.000 --> 0:13:38.080 She started thinking it was because of her that she 0:13:38.280 --> 0:13:41.520 wasn't enough. And I didn't cry when she was here, 0:13:41.559 --> 0:13:44.040 but as soon as she left, I cried, I think 0:13:44.080 --> 0:13:46.120 for two days straight because. 0:13:47.080 --> 0:13:48.280 She hated herself. 0:13:48.520 --> 0:13:51.360 You know, like we did have plans to go and 0:13:51.400 --> 0:13:53.559 need some friends, but she didn't want to go because 0:13:53.559 --> 0:13:56.199 she didn't want people to think she was a loser, 0:13:56.679 --> 0:14:00.000 and a loser turned into ugly, a loser turned into fat. 0:14:01.559 --> 0:14:06.160 She's none of those things. Her self esteem, I mean, 0:14:07.000 --> 0:14:11.240 the saddest part is the effect it had. No matter 0:14:11.280 --> 0:14:13.560 how many times you say that it wasn't her fault, 0:14:14.360 --> 0:14:20.160 she couldn't hear it. It was so sad just to 0:14:20.240 --> 0:14:25.880 watch someone who was so beautiful and vibrant and confident 0:14:25.960 --> 0:14:30.280 and smart turn into someone so small or thought that 0:14:30.360 --> 0:14:32.560 they were so small and unlovable. 0:14:34.320 --> 0:14:37.640 Christy remembered something from a past conversation she had with 0:14:37.720 --> 0:14:39.080 Spencer at a dinner party. 0:14:39.600 --> 0:14:43.240 I had asked Spence and his friend. I said, you know, 0:14:43.920 --> 0:14:47.080 do you guys ever get nervous with the young girls 0:14:47.160 --> 0:14:52.680 these days? And Spencer had this look on his face 0:14:52.920 --> 0:14:56.080 because he was being thoughtful about it. And Spence said, well, 0:14:56.120 --> 0:15:00.400 I never meet any of my students alone. I do. 0:15:00.560 --> 0:15:03.520 I always have the door open. But there was a 0:15:03.560 --> 0:15:07.600 pause there that made me think. It didn't make me 0:15:07.640 --> 0:15:10.280 pause because I thought he had done something, but it 0:15:10.360 --> 0:15:13.280 made me pause because I thought he wasn't saying something 0:15:13.320 --> 0:15:15.680 he wanted to say. And I'm not gonna lie. That 0:15:15.840 --> 0:15:21.280 was the first time that I thought, say it's Spence Spence. 0:15:21.000 --> 0:15:23.480 Never made bail, and although all of his friends and 0:15:23.520 --> 0:15:26.320 family knew that he was incarcerated for sexual assault with 0:15:26.360 --> 0:15:29.080 a student, he was determined to stay in touch and 0:15:29.120 --> 0:15:30.480 make amends however he could. 0:15:31.040 --> 0:15:33.400 Jennifer mentioned that he wanted to write me an email 0:15:33.880 --> 0:15:35.800 if he wants us all to love him. He has 0:15:35.840 --> 0:15:38.640 this need for everyone to love him. He wants to 0:15:38.680 --> 0:15:42.360 send emails and talk about how he's found God and 0:15:42.400 --> 0:15:44.920 all of this stuff. And I was like, don't bother, 0:15:45.520 --> 0:15:50.200 It's never going to happen. He's insane. Nothing he says 0:15:50.320 --> 0:15:52.160 is true. 0:15:52.520 --> 0:15:55.280 Jennifer wouldturn home to Actworth to pick up the pieces. 0:15:56.080 --> 0:15:59.840 The next casualty of Spencer's crimes. Jennifer's day to day 0:15:59.840 --> 0:16:04.960 life life Spencer's income, all that household money was lost. 0:16:05.480 --> 0:16:07.480 On top of that, her work was suffering from a 0:16:07.560 --> 0:16:10.880 lack of sleep and horrible stress. She had spent a 0:16:10.880 --> 0:16:15.120 lifetime building a reputation as a dependable and highly skilled producer, 0:16:16.080 --> 0:16:20.280 but coworkers could see that she was distracted. Finally, there 0:16:20.280 --> 0:16:23.640 would be the cost of a divorce attorney, and eventually 0:16:24.520 --> 0:16:28.960 she had to sell her home. The house that jen 0:16:29.040 --> 0:16:32.240 and Spen's bought together represented much more than their marriage. 0:16:32.880 --> 0:16:36.880 Jen's sister understood it symbolized something greater stability. 0:16:37.720 --> 0:16:41.720 Growing up after my parents divorced, we moved around a 0:16:41.760 --> 0:16:45.760 lot when we were younger. My sister Jennifer, John and 0:16:45.800 --> 0:16:48.960 I my brother John. We were all very close, but 0:16:49.400 --> 0:16:53.640 we also were always going into different schools twelve different 0:16:53.640 --> 0:16:58.720 schools before eighth grade. Was kind of just needing to survive. 0:16:59.720 --> 0:17:03.680 For Jennifer, she always wanted a home. She wanted to 0:17:03.680 --> 0:17:07.159 stay in one place. She wanted a house. She wanted 0:17:07.200 --> 0:17:10.000 the white picket fence because we didn't have that. 0:17:12.119 --> 0:17:16.840 You can't hide from the reality when those bills are due. Here, 0:17:16.880 --> 0:17:19.920 I have a mortgage on a home we just bought together. 0:17:21.800 --> 0:17:25.200 As hard as I tried, I can't make ends meet. 0:17:25.760 --> 0:17:29.280 Jennifer was broke and practically homeless. Her friends offered up 0:17:29.280 --> 0:17:33.200 their basement apartment rent free, and she accepted. It was humiliating. 0:17:34.080 --> 0:17:38.480 She was starting over all over. And then there was Spence. 0:17:39.440 --> 0:17:42.159 She was done with him. He was behind bars, but 0:17:42.200 --> 0:17:45.440 he had nothing. Even after everything that he had done 0:17:45.480 --> 0:17:47.760 to her. She couldn't live with the thought of him 0:17:47.760 --> 0:17:51.200 not having toothpaste or deodorant. She was not that kind 0:17:51.200 --> 0:17:51.639 of person. 0:17:52.160 --> 0:17:57.720 He's still a human being, and he at the time 0:17:57.840 --> 0:18:03.720 is my husband. I'd put money in his commissary account, 0:18:04.880 --> 0:18:06.960 but it was never a lot. It was like maybe 0:18:07.640 --> 0:18:10.200 twenty dollars here and there. 0:18:18.080 --> 0:18:21.080 As Bence's sentencing date got closer, he appealed to his 0:18:21.119 --> 0:18:25.280 friends and family, which included Jen's close social circle, asking 0:18:25.320 --> 0:18:28.560 them to write letters on his behalf. He asked Jennifer 0:18:28.600 --> 0:18:32.119 to pass a message onto the group. Here's an excerpt 0:18:32.160 --> 0:18:32.720 from the letter. 0:18:33.760 --> 0:18:37.239 Dear Villagers, I'm a man who comes to you with 0:18:37.280 --> 0:18:40.000 a humble heart and zero pride for all of the 0:18:40.040 --> 0:18:44.520 obvious reasons. I am not asking for your forgiveness because 0:18:44.560 --> 0:18:47.640 I'm not there yet and I don't deserve that anyway. 0:18:48.520 --> 0:18:52.080 I am asking for your help. However, why am I 0:18:52.119 --> 0:18:56.120 doing this. It's because I am fighting for my life. 0:18:56.280 --> 0:18:58.359 It's because I have clearly never been in such a 0:18:58.400 --> 0:19:02.320 place of need. But I am now. What I did 0:19:02.320 --> 0:19:05.359 to Jennifer and how I treated our marriage is something 0:19:05.400 --> 0:19:08.919 that I cannot only never fix, but also something I 0:19:08.960 --> 0:19:13.240 cannot ever apologize enough for doing. I will never be 0:19:13.280 --> 0:19:15.399 able to give back to her the things that I 0:19:15.400 --> 0:19:18.399 have taken. My only hope is that she moves on 0:19:18.480 --> 0:19:20.800 from this life bomb that I dropped on her as 0:19:20.800 --> 0:19:24.959 soon as she possibly can. I am coming to you because, 0:19:25.000 --> 0:19:28.119 despite how horrible I was to Jennifer, I hope and 0:19:28.160 --> 0:19:30.399 pray that you don't see me as the person the 0:19:30.440 --> 0:19:33.560 media and my charges are making me out to be. 0:19:34.840 --> 0:19:37.840 I hope that the Spencer you know or knew is 0:19:37.920 --> 0:19:41.960 not that person that has been described. For my upcoming 0:19:42.119 --> 0:19:45.760 arraignment hearing, I'm asking people who know me to consider 0:19:45.800 --> 0:19:48.399 writing a character reference letter to be given to my 0:19:48.560 --> 0:19:52.120 judge and the DA. Obviously, I'm wanting to get out 0:19:52.119 --> 0:19:55.200 of jail as soon as possible. You all know, of course, 0:19:55.240 --> 0:19:57.600 that the three kids are all in college, and I 0:19:57.640 --> 0:19:59.800 am desperate to get out so that I can support 0:19:59.800 --> 0:20:06.320 them in every way emotionally, spiritually, parentally, and financially. What 0:20:06.359 --> 0:20:08.879 it will do for my case, I believe will be 0:20:08.960 --> 0:20:12.200 so very important. I wish you all the very best, 0:20:12.320 --> 0:20:15.120 and thank you for being such an incredible friend to Jennifer. 0:20:15.640 --> 0:20:18.120 Much love, Thanks Spencer. 0:20:20.480 --> 0:20:24.359 He brings up the kids. That is when my blood 0:20:24.440 --> 0:20:28.240 started to boil. That is his first thing that he tried, 0:20:28.359 --> 0:20:35.480 using those kids, he says, I hope you remember the 0:20:35.520 --> 0:20:38.680 person that you know and not the one that the 0:20:38.760 --> 0:20:43.719 media is making me out to be. Well, he is 0:20:44.000 --> 0:20:47.640 the person the media is making them out to be. 0:20:48.720 --> 0:20:51.520 It's all true. 0:20:51.760 --> 0:20:55.119 Several people did write letters of support for Spencer, but 0:20:55.200 --> 0:20:59.480 none of them were the Villagers. Sentencing day came without 0:20:59.520 --> 0:21:00.120 much warning. 0:21:01.359 --> 0:21:04.480 I had planned to go and sit in the back. 0:21:05.560 --> 0:21:08.600 Jill planned to go with me and says she would 0:21:08.640 --> 0:21:13.360 hold my hand. But I wanted to go, not as 0:21:13.480 --> 0:21:18.840 support for him, but just to witness everything and hear 0:21:18.920 --> 0:21:25.600 it for myself. Unfortunately, the court date came up all 0:21:25.640 --> 0:21:29.200 of a sudden and there wasn't any preparation for it. 0:21:29.760 --> 0:21:32.719 Spenser pled guilty to five counts of sexual assault by 0:21:32.720 --> 0:21:36.520 a teacher. For each count, he was sentenced to twenty years, 0:21:36.560 --> 0:21:40.560 with five years to be served in confinement, serving them concurrently, 0:21:42.400 --> 0:21:43.760 he was going to state prison. 0:21:44.720 --> 0:21:49.800 I'm pretty sure that the evidence was stacked way way 0:21:49.960 --> 0:21:54.520 against him. As soon as it was over, he called me. 0:21:55.480 --> 0:21:59.720 He said he asked to say something to the victim's 0:21:59.760 --> 0:22:04.119 pa parents and the mom said, we don't want to 0:22:04.119 --> 0:22:05.680 hear anything you have to say. 0:22:07.520 --> 0:22:07.760 You know. 0:22:08.400 --> 0:22:12.159 He went into all of this thinking, I am an 0:22:12.240 --> 0:22:17.119 eagle scout, I'm in the Air Force reserves, I'm a 0:22:17.240 --> 0:22:22.479 school teacher. I was Teacher of the Year. I'm a 0:22:22.520 --> 0:22:29.040 great dad. Look at these people that are speaking on 0:22:29.080 --> 0:22:35.919 my behalf. And it didn't work. He couldn't talk his 0:22:36.000 --> 0:22:36.679 way out of it. 0:22:36.800 --> 0:22:37.359 This time. 0:22:38.280 --> 0:22:42.560 There was one very small consolation. Spencer could be sentenced 0:22:42.640 --> 0:22:46.040 under the first Offender Statute. The intent of the law 0:22:46.119 --> 0:22:48.360 was to give first time offenders a chance to learn 0:22:48.400 --> 0:22:50.960 from their mistake and move on with their lives out 0:22:51.000 --> 0:22:52.120 the burden of a conviction. 0:22:52.880 --> 0:22:58.360 The benefit is that after the twenty years everything will 0:22:58.400 --> 0:23:02.639 be wiped off his record, so he will not be 0:23:02.760 --> 0:23:07.159 considered a felon anymore. He can vote again and the 0:23:07.240 --> 0:23:12.240 slate is white clean for him. Having that title of 0:23:12.400 --> 0:23:16.520 first defender was like, you know, a notch on his belt, 0:23:16.920 --> 0:23:17.439 I think. 0:23:18.240 --> 0:23:20.320 But remember how he took the student into a hotel 0:23:21.280 --> 0:23:24.080 that was not in Cobb County but in Cherokee County, 0:23:24.680 --> 0:23:29.800 a different jurisdiction. Spender was indicted for that charge several 0:23:29.840 --> 0:23:32.879 months later. On July fifth, twenty nineteen. 0:23:33.640 --> 0:23:36.679 After he'd been sent to prison, they woke him up 0:23:36.720 --> 0:23:40.440 in the middle of the night to transport him from 0:23:40.680 --> 0:23:45.840 Wilcox Prison back up to Cherokee County to have a 0:23:45.880 --> 0:23:51.560 hearing for that case. He was really disappointed because he 0:23:51.600 --> 0:23:54.400 didn't think that they were going to move forward with that. 0:23:55.320 --> 0:23:59.960 So just by picking a hotel that happened to be 0:24:00.119 --> 0:24:05.680 in another county, he got another twenty year sentence for. 0:24:05.720 --> 0:24:10.720 Cherokee County's District Attorney, Spencer Hearn wasn't a first time offender. 0:24:11.760 --> 0:24:14.320 He was now a repeat offender. You would no longer 0:24:14.400 --> 0:24:18.199 qualify for first offender status. Cherokee County gave them the 0:24:18.200 --> 0:24:23.440 same sentence also to run concurrently. Upon release, Spencer Hearn 0:24:23.520 --> 0:24:28.399 will have to register as a sex offender. Cobb County 0:24:28.440 --> 0:24:30.800 District Attorney Flynn Brody Jr. 0:24:31.600 --> 0:24:34.359 As a sexual predator. That is a scarlet letter for 0:24:34.400 --> 0:24:37.399 the rest of your life. It'll limit the types of 0:24:37.480 --> 0:24:39.560 jobs he can have. It'll limit the places that they 0:24:39.600 --> 0:24:43.480 can live. They'll have to report everywhere they go. Anytime 0:24:43.520 --> 0:24:45.800 they cross state lines, they have to report that they're 0:24:45.880 --> 0:24:50.320 sexual predator in that particular state. It really limits them 0:24:50.359 --> 0:24:53.800 as far as their future is concerned, and rightfully so, 0:24:53.960 --> 0:24:56.879 because we know they're a predator and they have to 0:24:56.920 --> 0:24:57.600 be controlled. 0:24:58.600 --> 0:25:02.600 The court proceedings, the apology letters from Spencer, they were 0:25:02.640 --> 0:25:07.160 all distractions. Most days after the arrest, Jennifer was alone 0:25:07.200 --> 0:25:11.040