Pedophile living in Hamilton halfway house
Parole board says Junior Spencer is likely to reoffend, and his case history backs that up
Since he was a boy, Junior Spencer has preyed on boys.
Now that he is an adult, he believes there is nothing wrong with men having sex with boys.
The Parole Board of Canada (PBC) says the diagnosed pedophile is likely to reoffend. Psychological testing indicates that, along with his poor track record of abiding by conditions out in the community.
Yet, he is living in a Hamilton halfway house. Again.
Last time he was paroled here, he was caught with child porn.
For decades, Junior Spencer, 42 — who Hamilton police say is also known as Emmanuelle Spence — has endeared himself to families and groomed their sons to feed his needs. He has joined organizations where children gather. He has worn disguises to continue offending. And he ran a child pornography ring — from prison.
PBC documents show Spencer believes “sexual activities involving children are acceptable in some countries” and he does not think he has “deviant sexual interests.” He targets boys between the ages of eight and 14.
Spencer is so dangerous the court designated him a longterm offender, putting an extra 10 years of supervision on him after he served his sentence. His long criminal record starts when he was young, according to the parole board, and includes convictions for sexual interference, possession of child pornography and invitation to sexual touching.
Once when he was released from prison, Toronto Police Service warned the public to beware of him.
Hamilton police issued no such warning when Spencer was released into our community last month, although they have done so regarding other sex offenders in the past.
Police say they are aware Spencer is living in a halfway house in the city, but declined to say why they didn’t warn the public.
“We continue to monitor Mr. Spencer’s movements within Hamilton to ensure he abides by the conditions of his release,” says spokesperson Jackie
Penman. The PBC allowed Spencer out on statutory release on March 16.
His conditions include: authorizing his physician to share all information with his parole supervisor related to his sex drive reducing medication; not intentionally possessing or viewing any sexually-explicit material except as approved in advance by his parole officer; not to own, use or have cameras or other devices that would allow him to transfer and/or store images; not to have any employment, either voluntary or paid, that involves being in the position of trust or authority over children under the age of 18.
Spencer must report any intimate relationship or friendship to his parole officer and any relationship with any person who has children in their care.
On Sept. 14, 2020, Spencer will have served his entire sentence and will be free to leave the halfway house.
While at Warkworth Penitentiary in 2000, Spencer — 22 at the time — sold child pornography to a ring of pedophiles.
Court heard that “hundreds” of young boys were exploited by a “sophisticated” network that made and distributed porn.
He was convicted along with his twin brother Stephen.
Another member of the ring, Christopher Higginbottom, is a notorious predator with a history of sex offences against boys in the Hamilton area. In the mid-90s he was convicted of three assaults on young boys.
In 2005, Spencer was sentenced to prison time for child porn related convictions and breaching (for the third time) a LTO supervision order. Spencer agreed to chemical castration and underwent counselling for sex offenders while incarcerated.
A detective with the Toronto police sex crimes unit once described Spencer as “a groomer.”
“He will infiltrate a family so that he can gain access to the children,” the officer said.
The detective said Spencer has a history of volunteering with agencies that deal with children, putting him into close contact with his prey.
In February 2008, Spencer began anew his LTO supervision order with a staggering 27 release conditions, prompting Toronto police to issue a public safety warning. Spencer wasn’t out long before he breached and was sent back to prison.
In October 2018, while living at a halfway house in Hamilton while on his restarted LTO order, Spencer failed to sign out of his email. That lead staff to find a phone he was using to access the internet while unsupervised. Hamilton police arrested Spencer and during a search of his vehicle found a tablet loaded with sexually graphic photos of men with boys “and a history of accessing pornographic websites.” A search of his room found a stash of cannabis edibles, magic mushrooms and three USB drives.
This landed Taylor a twoyear-and-six-month “sub sentence” for six breaches of his supervision order.
Last August, prison staff seized a cellphone from another inmate at Spencer’s prison. It contained photos of Spencer with young, partially clothed boys.
In September 2019, a prison assessment deemed Spencer’s risk of reoffending to be high. His reintegration potential was evaluated as low.
Don’t hold out much hope that Spencer is a changed man.