BOISE, Idaho (TCN) — A 51-year-old man who pleaded guilty to rape has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for 40 years.
The Ada County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office announced that Thomas Spencer was sentenced on June 29. The investigation began in January after the FBI found a group on Telegram, a messaging app, where members posted videos and images of unconscious people being sexually assaulted. The FBI shared the group with local law enforcement officials, who found that Spencer had posted eight videos to the group of a victim whose name has not been released.
When Spencer’s phone was searched, investigators learned he had been sharing such content since 2019, according to the prosecuting attorney’s office. Investigators made contact with the victim, who said she had no memory of the events in the videos, but would drink wine, fall asleep, and wake up the following day with a headache and pain that was related to sexual assault.
In the Telegram groups, Spencer referred to her by name and made posts about how he would drug her so she would be unaware of the assaults. “Can’t count how many times I’ve done that!” he wrote in one posting.
At Spencer’s sentencing, Ada County prosecutor Jan Bennetts said, “I commend this victim for her incredible courage. This wasn’t a stranger who attacked her in a moment of opportunity — this was someone she trusted completely, who chose to violate her again and again, then shared it with strangers for their entertainment.”
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