Cops: Veteran Politician Groped Victim, 103
Nursing home patient is suspect's mother-in-law
DECEMBER 29--A veteran Pennsylvania politician is facing indecent assault charges for repeatedly molesting a 103-year-old woman confined to a nursing home, 
according to investigators
On three occasions this month, William Spingler, 75, allegedly groped the breasts of the victim, who resides at the Wayne Nursing Home in Delaware County.
As alleged in a criminal complaint, Spingler was first seen groping the mentally disabled victim on December 15. A nursing home employee told cops that she spotted Spingler touching the woman’s right breast and moving his hand “around her chest area in a manner that could not be misconstrued with anything else but inappropriate touching.”
Two days later, Spingler returned to the nursing home and again groped the woman, cops allege. When he noticed a worker observing him, “his face turned red and he immediately left the facility," according to the complaint. On December 23, a worker told police that she saw Spingler again inappropriately touch the woman, cops charge.
The victim, who suffers from dementia, is Spingler’s mother-in-law. The woman is “physically and mentally unable to defend herself” and is “completely dependent” upon staff for around-the-clock care, the complaint notes.
As first reported by Main Line Suburban Life, Spingler, seen above, was charged with three counts of indecent assault on a person with a mental disability. He was arraigned Friday on the misdemeanor charges and released on $10,000 unsecured bail. Spingler, who has been ordered to have no contact with the victim, is scheduled for a January 5 preliminary hearing.
Spingler, a licensed real estate broker, has been active in politics for decades. Spingler, a Democrat, has been elected to the Delaware County Council and the Radnor Township Commission (where he served for more than 25 years before stepping down from his post last year).
A Villanova University graduate, Spingler is the father of two adult children and the grandfather of six. He previously lived with the elderly victim before she was placed in nursing care. (3 pages)
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