After 12 years in prison felon resumes criminal acts

Earlier today, a man convicted of making sexually explicit interstate telephone calls that threatened to injure minor children, was sentenced by Judge Marcia Morales Howard to serve 20 years in federal prison for his crimes, according to US Attorney Robert E. O’Neill.

According to court documents, between September and October 2010, 59 year-old James D. Spence, Jr. of Jacksonville made more than 1,250 threatening interstate telephone calls, mainly to hospitals across the United States.

During the sentencing hearing today, evidence was presented that Spence had a 40-year history of such activities. According to court records, Spence was prosecuted for similar conduct in 1998 and was sentenced to 14 years in federal prison for those crimes.

On June 25, 2010 Spence was released from prison after serving 12 years of the 14-year sentence. Three months after being released, he made new calls threatening to sodomize and rape a minor female child.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Marshal Service, and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mark B. Devereaux.