Convicted sex offender blames kids for seeking him out

GRAND RAPIDS – A convicted sex offender charged with sexually assaulting a 10-year-old Gaines Township boy told detectives that children are attracted to him and seek him out.

Jason Michael Spencer appeared in 63rd District Court Tuesday on three counts of criminal sexual conduct for allegedly assaulting the boy while they watched "A Christmas Story'' on TV.

Spencer, 27, admitted to sexually assaulting the 10-year-old, but says the child "actually had approached him and he 'wanted it,' '' Kent County Sheriff's Detective Joel Roon wrote in a probable cause affidavit.

Spencer was sent to prison two years ago for sexually assaulting a 6-year-old boy left in his care. He is also serving time for breaking into a Kentwood home with the help of a 13-year-old boy.

"Jason said he constantly has to stop himself from having sexual contact with kids because they tend to seek him out,'' Roon wrote. "Jason said that he doesn't understand the justice system as it pertains to this type of case because he didn't feel that he should be prosecuted for this since these kids are the ones who want to 'do it' with him.''

Detectives two weeks ago brought him to Grand Rapids from a state prison in Marquette where he is serving time for home break-ins and sexual assault.

He was sentenced in Kent County Circuit Court in March 2013 to between two and 15 years for assaulting a boy left in his care at a home on Madison Avenue SE in Kentwood.

The most recent charges stem from sexual assaults police say occurred between August and October 2012 on Maplebrook Street SE in Gaines Township when the boy was 10. Police got involved in December after the boy disclosed the assaults while being interviewed at the Children's Assessment Center in Grand Rapids.

Spencer is the cousin of a man the boy's mother was dating at the time. The boy said Spencer was touching him inappropriately while watching "A Christmas Story." He said he fell asleep and when he awoke, Nelson was assaulting him, according to a probable cause affidavit in 63rd District Court.

Kent County detectives tracked Nelson down at the state prison in Marquette where he is serving time for the 2013 sexual assault and two home break-ins in May 2009.

In one case, he got help from a 13-year-old boy to break into a home on LynHaven Drive SE in Kentwood, court records show. The boy cut a window screen to enter a home and unlock a basement door so Spencer could get in, court records show. Spencer was charged with home invasion and enticing a minor to commit a felony, but the enticement charge was dismissed as part of a plea agreement.

The other break-in took place on Union Court in Wyoming. At the time of the break-ins, Spencer was living at his parent's home in Wyoming. He was sentenced in August 2009 to between two and 20 years for the two home invasions.

Spencer, who turns 28 on Friday, is being held in the Kent County Jail on a $1-million bond. If convicted of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, he faces up to life in prison.

John Hogan is a reporter with wzzm13.com.