Paul Spensberger of O’Fallon, Missouri reported his 17-year-old son Andrew to the police after finding two photographs of a naked, sleeping two-year-old child on Andrew’s phone on December 30. Andrew was arrested on Friday on a Class D felony charge of child pornography possession.
The Daily Mail reports that Paul alerted police after finding the disturbing photos in an effort to teach his son a lesson, since the younger Spensberger has behavioral issues and is constantly in trouble for theft. The photos were of a young relative of Andrew’s girlfriend, and taken at close range. Andrew told his father that he took the photos to sell to one of his classmates in high school who is a suspected pedophile. Andrew, who works at KFC, thought he could be paid $350 for the images, and he needed money fast to pay undisclosed debts.
Andrew is currently on a $10,000 bond, and Paul refuses to pay it. “He feels like s**t. He feels remorse and he is scared, he's facing time in prison. I could go and get him but he needs to learn,” Paul said. Paul also told the Daily Mail that his former wife, Andrew’s mother, is scared that Andrew could be jumped in prison due to the kind of crimes he has been charged with.
Andrew faces up to four years in prison. Paul has consulted with several lawyers but has yet to decide if he will hire one for his son. Paul has also reportedly been in contact with the toddler’s family, who have forgiven Andrew.
At the same time, though, Paul believes his son is telling the truth and was not storing the photos for personal use. “Andrew is a thief but he is not sexual like that,” Paul claims. “He was in a bind [for money]. I have no doubt there are kids at his school that would buy s**t like that.”
