Pastor To Serve 30 Days In Jail In Bigamy Case
- October 23, 2008
Spencer K. Osborne
An assistant pastor who was married to more than one woman will spend another 30 days in jail to fulfill a sentence handed down Monday for bigamy.
Spencer K. Osborne, 36, said he figured his divorce from his first wife had been finalized when he married a second woman in 2005. He pleaded guilty earlier this month to bigamy, a low-level felony.
I just assumed,” Osborne said. The divorce, however, wasn’t final until several months later. “I should have known better and checked. . . . I really am sorry about this.”
Charging documents filed last month said Osborne later was married a third time without divorcing the second wife, but prosecutors dismissed that count. It’s unclear whether either marriage is valid.
Osborne was convicted in 1993 of molesting a 7-year-old Marion County girl, but that case predated Indiana’s sex offender registry.
He said during Monday’s hearing in Marion Superior Court that he still had ties to New Covenant Free Will Baptist Church on the Eastside of Indianapolis, but he planned to move to Kentucky upon his release to be near family.
He already has agreed to be extradited to Christian County, Ky., where he faces accusations of failing to pay nearly $60,000 in child support for two children.
In the bigamy case, Judge Heather Welch gave Osborne 120 days in jail. That leaves 30 days remaining after taking into account the time he’s already served and good-behavior credit. His plea agreement capped any jail time at six months.
Welch denied Osborne’s request to have the bigamy conviction entered as a misdemeanor.
Cited From:
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081021/NEWS02/810210361
