Man on probation charged with sexual crimes against two juveniles

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Randy Lavern Spencer, 59, was arrested on February 26 and charged with two counts of lewd/lascivious exhibition with a victim under 16 years old; after detectives examined SD cards from his apartment, they added 20 counts of sexual battery on a second victim under 16 years of age, 20 counts of possession of child pornography, and 20 counts of manufacturing child pornography.

Spencer was initially arrested after a victim told a family member that Spencer had acted “weird” around her since she was 12 or 13 and had asked her repeatedly for a “favor” once she turned 14; she also said he had cameras all around the house, and once when he caught her sneaking out, he took her phone and said he would give it back if she did him a “favor,” although she said she always refused the requests. The victim also reportedly said he talked about his previous homicide case, for which he served a 22-year prison sentence, and she said he told her she would “end up in a ditch” if she told anyone what he said. She said he talked about chopping up her body and killing her and that she was in fear for her safety; she said he talked about her death so often that she “just accepted the fact that [Spencer] would someday kill her.”

On February 26, Spencer was arrested at his job as a gardener at the VA Hospital. Post Miranda, he reportedly denied all of the allegations.

A second victim reportedly came forward on February 28 and said Spencer had sexually abused her for several years, beginning when she was under 15 years old; she said that when she was 15, Spencer started having sexual intercourse with her “often” over several years.

The second victim said Spencer recorded the sexual acts on a small square camera that was black and had a blue outline and that he told her he was recording it to “watch it later.” Detectives applied for and received a search warrant and found several small square cameras with blue outlines and 24 micro-SD cards.

Examination of the SD cards reportedly revealed 546 videos showing Spencer sexually assaulting the second victim in 162 separate sexual batteries.

Post Miranda, Spencer reportedly declined to speak with the detective about this investigation.

The arrest report states that although the evidence supports 162 counts of sexual battery, 546 counts of possession of 10 or more child pornography videos, and 546 counts of manufacturing child pornography, Spencer was charged with 20 counts of each charge “for case organizational purposes.”

Spencer has at least 21 felony convictions, including a second-degree murder conviction out of Columbia County; he is on probation until July 2027. Judge James Colaw previously ordered him held without bail on the first set of charges.

Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.