Radnor Commissioner Wants To Strip Spingler's Awards: Report

RANDOR, PA – William Spingler, the former Radnor Township Commissioner who was recently found guilty of fondling a 103-year-old woman with a mental disability, does not deserve to keep the awards he's been presented by the township, according to one Radnor Township Commissioner.

Commissioner Richard Booker reportedly told his fellow commissioners that the board should take action to rescind any awards or commendations Spingler received from the township in the wake of his conviction.

"The reprehensible, perverse, and illegal activities that he has been convicted of necessitate that we separate Radnor, to the extent possible, from any affiliation with him," Booker reportedly said in an email to the other commissioners.

Booker told the Delaware County Daily Times that precedent for stripping such awards was set when Villanova renamed the then John du Pont Pavilion after du Pont was convicted of murder.

Spingler was convicted last week on two of three counts of indecent assault on a person with a mental disability.

Spingler reportedly admitted in court to touching the woman, who is the mother of his late wife, on two occasions at the Wayne Nursing Home.

"It was a stupid, harmless act that destroyed my life," Spingler reportedly said in court Thursday. "I mean, my reputation is destroyed, my business is destroyed. It was just something that I shouldn’t have done."

Spingler previously said that he did not fondle the victim and was just showing affection to his mother-in-law who was battling dementia.

Court records show he is scheduled for sentencing on Sept. 28. He will also be evaluated by the state Sexual Offenders Assessment Board to determine whether he meets the criteria for a sexually violent predator, court records show.

Spingler was accused of fondling the victim's breast on three occasions in December 2016.

At the trial Wednesday, a nurse told her story of how she saw what she thought was Spingler fondling the woman, who is the mother of Spingler's late wife.

She told the court she saw Spingler's hand fondling the victim's breast.

A unit manager at the home said another nurse reported seeing Spingler fondle the victim as well, which led staff to determine Spingler shouldn't be alone with the victim.

Patch file photo