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  Flight Instructor Faces New Molestation Charges, Police Seek to ID Boys in Photos

WHTM
December 17, 2009

http://www.whtm.com/news/stories/1209/688138.html

[with video]

Manheim Township, Pa. - Police in Manheim Township, Lancaster County are hoping to identify several boys depicted in photographs found in a suspected molester's home.

Dennis Spangler, 64, is a former Methodist pastor. He was also a private flight instructor who worked out of the Lancaster Airport. In September, police arrested Spangler on charges he had inappropriate sexual contact with two teenagers.

According to court documents, a 13-year-old boy claimed Spangler molested him while they were "camping out" in an airport hangar. The boy said the contact happened from the fall of 2008 to the spring of 2009.

Court documents also state a 15-year-old boy told police in 2007 that Spangler touched him and tried to kiss him during free flying lessons.

Police said Spangler admitted to some of the inappropriate contact.

"There's a method of operation he was developing, of developing the trust of these young boys by using the airport and airplanes to take advantage of them," Lancaster County District Attorney Craig Stedman said.

Police on Tuesday filed more serious charges against Spangler. They said when they searched his home on Richland Drive, they found photographs depicting the 13-year-old partially nude in a sexually explicit pose. Court documents state the "pictures were taken and possessed by the actor for sexual stimulation and/or gratification by the actor."

When the boy was interviewed by police, he admitted that more happened, police said. Spangler is now charged with involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, indecent assault, and sexual abuse of children.

"It's a complete betrayal of the community and of these children," Stedman said.

Stedman said police also discovered additional photos of other young boys. He said the photos were not pornographic, but investigators would like to identify the boys.

Stedman is asking parents who believe their child may have had unsupervised contact with Spangler, particularly at the airport, to call police. "When we know his pattern and we have evidence such as that, showing he's having contact with additional children, we'd like to know who those children were and make sure the truth comes out," Stedman said.

There was no answer at Spangler's home on Wednesday afternoon. A phone call to his attorney was not returned.

Stedman said he asked a district judge to jail Spangler on $1 million bail, saying he was both a flight risk and a danger to the community. Instead, the judge granted him bail of $100,000. Spangler was able to post the bail and is now free.

A neighbor, Maria Petropoulos, said she is not fearful of Spangler but is in shock over the allegations. "He walks his dogs all the time, he's always out in the summer taking walks with his wife," she said. "I would never think something like this would happen."

David Eberly, the director of the Lancaster Airport, also expressed shock. "It was just totally shocking and unexpected for me," he said. "I've known him for years."

Eberly said he hasn't seen Spangler since the first set of charges were filed in September and he can't recall ever seeing him alone with teens. "He was a likable guy, very articulate and friendly," he said.

 
 

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