April 28, 2022 • 27 mins
Through his social media and texts, Jenifer learns devastating details about her husband’s double life. The arrest was the tip of the iceberg. She was living with and loving a man with addictions, fantasies, and predilections he kept hidden the entire time they were together. She discovers more about Spencer’s crimes and how he justifies his behavior. Eventually Jenifer turns the devastation inward wondering if it’s her shortcomings that caused this. Family and friends rally around her. She realizes to heal and move on she will have to learn everything she can about the man she married.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
This podcast discusses sexual assault. Please take care while listening.
On December thirtieth, twenty twelve, Spencer Heron and Jennifer Fason
were married.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Let us pray, God of all love and mercy, make
this a sacred place wholly by your presence and by
the love that we celebrate today. Help us to find
in this couple's love and laughter the love and laughter
you share for us.
Speaker 3 (00:30):
Amen, Jennifer.
Speaker 4 (00:32):
Ever since I saw you walk into that hotel lobby
last year, I've known what I'm supposed to do with
the rest of my life. I feel beyond honor to
know you, to love you, and to accept the most
privilege of all things being your husband.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
Nearly six years later, on August sixteenth, twenty eighteen, Heron
was indicted on five counts of sexual assault by a
teacher on school property in Cobb County, Georgia.
Speaker 4 (00:58):
You will never have to question my love devotion to you,
because there's nothing else that I want to spend my
time doing except showing you those things. I am so
in love with you.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
Nearly nine months later, on April eighth, twenty nineteen, Spencer
was indicted for sexually assaulting the same student in a
hotel in Turkey County, Georgia. Spencer told the victim to
stay down in an effort to hide her while driving
her from Kel High School to a hotel.
Speaker 2 (01:27):
Having witnessed the covenant that you have made today and
celebrated the love that you share, it is my privilege
to pronounce you husband and wife.
Speaker 3 (01:37):
You may kiss.
Speaker 1 (01:49):
I'm Andrea Gunning and this is a trayal Episode two.
The aftermath.
Speaker 5 (02:04):
The judge set a fifty five thousand dollars cash bond,
so we couldn't get him out if we tried, couldn't
put the house up or anything like that. Fifty five
thousand dollars is a lot of money, so he stayed
in jail. It was almost like a wake, almost like
someone had died, because people just kept coming over.
Speaker 1 (02:28):
In the days after the news broke, Jennifer and Spencer's
friend group were in disbelief and rallied around her. Her
friend Danielle was one of the first people Jennifer reached
out to, and upon hearing the news, Danielle drove straight
to Jennifer's house.
Speaker 6 (02:43):
Oh what the fuck. I couldn't wrap my head around
there being any truth to it. All I could do
was just be there for her and let her know
that she had a huge community who was not going
to let her down.
Speaker 1 (02:55):
Jen's neighbor Jail knew Spence, and she just couldn't process it.
Speaker 3 (03:00):
Like no, no, no, no, nope.
Speaker 5 (03:01):
It was like her calling me and speaking to me
in Mandarin because I was just like, I don't know
what you're saying to me right now.
Speaker 1 (03:08):
Spencer's moogshot was all over the news, not just an Atworth,
but nationally and internationally. There was no hiding it. Jennifer
had to deal with the shame of what her husband
had done. The victim told investigators that during the summer
of twenty sixteen, Spencer met with her at school several
times for a non existent school club meeting. She said
(03:31):
that he would text her and tell her when he
would be at the school and where to find him.
That would give her a reason to be at Kel
High School. Spencer began groping the victim on several different occasions,
and his behavior continued into the fall semester. Law enforcement
also learned that in twenty seventeen, Spencer started having sexual
relations with the student inside the school on multiple occasions.
(03:55):
She was a sophomore. She provided some devastating des details
that were contained in the criminal warrant as a warning.
Some of them are difficult to hear. For example, when
she began crying because it hurt, Spencer told her to
be quiet. Also, he insisted that he not used protection
because he was quote unquote fixed.
Speaker 6 (04:17):
You know, it was sickening to know that the accusation
was coming from someone the same age as his youngest.
That was really difficult for us. How do you wrap
your head around that?
Speaker 1 (04:29):
And there were plenty of people who couldn't channel.
Speaker 7 (04:32):
Woos Lauren pos and talked to one of his former
students tonight. She's live outside the Cobb County jail, was
what she learned.
Speaker 8 (04:37):
People we spoke with are skeptical of the charges because
you don't always know what's the truth is. The two
former students who did not want to go on camera
told me Haron was a great coach and teacher. The
other student added Haron was a professional and kind hearted.
She told me she does not believe the allegations are true.
Speaker 1 (04:57):
But Jennifer knew they were true. Spencer had admitted it.
Now she was confronted with something else. Two days after
Spencer's arrest, Jennifer uncovered a dark secret life. Her husband
had been living a trove of her husband's lovers, sex partners,
and prostitutes that dated back to the beginning of their
(05:18):
marriage and beyond. He kept everything, photos, videos, emails, and
text exchanges between him and at least fifty other women
littered his computer.
Speaker 6 (05:31):
She had gotten into his email to reset the password
for his Facebook, and that's when she was able to
shut down his social media. She was just looking to
protect him, protect him, protect the family. But once she
logged into his email, it was over and there's just
no going back. I don't think that anybody expected for
(05:54):
her to find what she found. I call it his
trophy case. It was an entire catalog of emails and
correspondents with women years and years and years. I mean,
he saved everything. He saved the rejection emails, he saved
(06:19):
every photo, He backed up the photos that he got
from his Facebook. He was not who we thought he was.
Speaker 9 (06:28):
She told us that she was going to file for divorce.
Speaker 5 (06:31):
Spence was literally living a double life. On one hand,
he's living as the perfect, doting, loving husband, great father,
teacher of the year. Air Force banned he was even
(06:54):
an Eagle scout.
Speaker 1 (06:56):
Jennifer's sister Chrissy, was the voice of reason and probably
understood Jennifer better than anyone.
Speaker 9 (07:02):
She had discovered all of the other women and the emails,
and I think she was obsessed about that because it
was easier than actually being sad about it. She only
showed me one thing because I just don't want to
see I didn't need to see it, but I think
she had to because it was Spencer. You still don't
believe it.
Speaker 1 (07:23):
Jennifer and Spence got married on December thirtieth, twenty twelve.
She found photos of fourteen different women, many of them nude,
within the first year of their marriage.
Speaker 6 (07:35):
There were two that I knew. One is someone who
became friends of ours through the wine bar. Her and
her husband would come in pretty regularly.
Speaker 1 (07:45):
The wine bar. It was a big part of Jennifer
and Spence's life. It had been a dream of Jennifer's
to own one.
Speaker 5 (07:55):
Spencer and I talked about opening a coffee shop when
we first moved here, because Atworth has this small town
feel and it's got this great main street. It somehow
evolved into a wine bar, which we opened and had
for two years. This was a place where the neighborhood
(08:17):
really came together. All we had to do was open
up the doors and the neighborhood just came in and
they introduced themselves and they hung out and we all
just became friends and this really great community. Having that
wine bar was a way to play hostess to the neighborhood.
Speaker 1 (08:41):
And it turns out it was also a sexual playground
for Spencer, who found new prospects, seduced women, and even
had sex here.
Speaker 5 (08:51):
I think we just have this great bar, and Spence
was basically using it as his I have seen messages
where he says, while that blowjob you gave me in
the bathroom last night was amazing, or photos of somebody
(09:13):
in the bathroom taking a picture of herself and sending
it to him. He used to put a sign on
the door apparently that said back in five minutes or
back in ten minutes, and then would have sex in there.
Speaker 1 (09:26):
Jennifer's mother, Gail just couldn't wrap her head around the audacity.
Speaker 2 (09:31):
It's like in my business too.
Speaker 5 (09:33):
I mean, is there no place sacred?
Speaker 2 (09:36):
Unbelievable? It's absolutely unbelievable.
Speaker 1 (09:40):
But there were dozens and he met them in all
kinds of ways. Jennifer discovered evidence of a year long
affair with a woman from his running.
Speaker 6 (09:48):
Club, and then another one was in the military with him.
They were all very different from who Jennifer is as
a person.
Speaker 1 (09:57):
Spencer juggled multiple conquests at the same time. The affairs
he was having with the women overlapped, and he stayed
in touch with them through sordid text exchanges. It's fair
to assume that people behave differently with secret lovers during
affairs than they might with their own spouses, but reading
his text was like reading a novel. He was a
fictional character. The messages showed that Spencer had secret fetishes.
(10:21):
Just a warning. The texts are explicit, and maybe the
most alarming part is realizing that your own partner wrote them,
and that's what jen faced when she discovered these text messages.
Note all of the following were sent to adult women.
Speaker 7 (10:37):
Will you actually punch me this time? I'm not fucking around.
I need you to hurt me. That's the point, the
entire point.
Speaker 1 (10:49):
Was he into pain or was it the rush? Jennifer
had no idea because she had no clue that he
liked to be hit Spencer also liked his lovers to
refer to him as Daddy. Send outy a picture was
a frequent request in his fantasy life. Jennifer noticed he
seemed to enjoy a playful and sometimes not so playful,
(11:10):
dominating persona. There were other texts where Spencer was in
touch with former students. Here he keeps trying to persuade
one of them to get together.
Speaker 7 (11:22):
I remember you being in class. You're always so much
fun and so sweet. I hope you could tell that
I was always super fond of you. We have a
cool connection, your gorgeous fact. We need to hang out.
I can't wait.
Speaker 3 (11:43):
I dig you.
Speaker 1 (11:46):
Eventually, the young woman asks how are you and your wife?
Speaker 3 (11:50):
Though?
Speaker 7 (11:51):
Okay, I guess you know how relationships are. Can you
see how I might have a crush on you?
Speaker 1 (11:59):
You know how relationships are. He barely acknowledges the question
and brings it back to the conversation he really wanted
to have. In another exchange, he mentions with holding sex
from Jennifer.
Speaker 7 (12:13):
When I know that we're going to meet, I like
depriving myself, so I avoid sex with her if it
even comes up.
Speaker 1 (12:22):
And to another he references tension at home for more excitement.
Speaker 7 (12:27):
By the way, Jen and I are fighting right now,
so I am in an even freakier and more amped
up mood to test the waters. And then there was
this I am a single man for the next six days.
If you want to hook up, I'm still very interested.
Speaker 1 (12:46):
That's a tech spencer sent when Jennifer was traveling for work.
But the person Jennifer saw when she returned with someone
happy to see her.
Speaker 5 (12:53):
He'll be jumping up, you know, saying hi, wife, welcome home.
It's almost like an outer body experience, because you can't
prepare yourself for something like that, especially when it's the
last thing you expect to happen.
Speaker 1 (13:22):
Jennifer needed to get away from it all, so she
went to stay with her sister in La.
Speaker 9 (13:28):
During the time that she stayed with me, she went
from angry to.
Speaker 3 (13:31):
Really, really fat.
Speaker 9 (13:34):
She started thinking it was because of her that she
wasn't enough. And I didn't cry when she was here,
but as soon as she left, I cried, I think
for two days straight because.
Speaker 1 (13:47):
She hated herself.
Speaker 9 (13:48):
You know, like we did have plans to go and
need some friends, but she didn't want to go because
she didn't want people to think she was a loser,
and a loser turned into ugly, a loser turned into fat.
She's none of those things. Her self esteem, I mean,
the saddest part is the effect it had. No matter
(14:11):
how many times you say that it wasn't her fault,
she couldn't hear it. It was so sad just to
watch someone who was so beautiful and vibrant and confident
and smart turn into someone so small or thought that
they were so small and unlovable.
Speaker 1 (14:34):
Christy remembered something from a past conversation she had with
Spencer at a dinner party.
Speaker 9 (14:39):
I had asked Spence and his friend. I said, you know,
do you guys ever get nervous with the young girls
these days? And Spencer had this look on his face
because he was being thoughtful about it. And Spence said, well,
I never meet any of my students alone. I do.
(15:00):
I always have the door open. But there was a
pause there that made me think. It didn't make me
pause because I thought he had done something, but it
made me pause because I thought he wasn't saying something
he wanted to say. And I'm not gonna lie. That
was the first time that I thought, say it's Spence Spence.
Speaker 1 (15:21):
Never made bail, and although all of his friends and
family knew that he was incarcerated for sexual assault with
a student, he was determined to stay in touch and
make amends however he could.
Speaker 9 (15:31):
Jennifer mentioned that he wanted to write me an email
if he wants us all to love him. He has
this need for everyone to love him. He wants to
send emails and talk about how he's found God and
all of this stuff. And I was like, don't bother,
It's never going to happen. He's insane. Nothing he says
is true.
Speaker 1 (15:52):
Jennifer wouldturn home to Actworth to pick up the pieces.
The next casualty of Spencer's crimes. Jennifer's day to day
life life Spencer's income, all that household money was lost.
On top of that, her work was suffering from a
lack of sleep and horrible stress. She had spent a
lifetime building a reputation as a dependable and highly skilled producer,
(16:16):
but coworkers could see that she was distracted. Finally, there
would be the cost of a divorce attorney, and eventually
she had to sell her home. The house that jen
and Spen's bought together represented much more than their marriage.
Jen's sister understood it symbolized something greater stability.
Speaker 9 (16:37):
Growing up after my parents divorced, we moved around a
lot when we were younger. My sister Jennifer, John and
I my brother John. We were all very close, but
we also were always going into different schools twelve different
schools before eighth grade. Was kind of just needing to survive.
(16:59):
For Jennifer, she always wanted a home. She wanted to
stay in one place. She wanted a house. She wanted
the white picket fence because we didn't have that.
Speaker 5 (17:12):
You can't hide from the reality when those bills are due. Here,
I have a mortgage on a home we just bought together.
As hard as I tried, I can't make ends meet.
Speaker 1 (17:25):
Jennifer was broke and practically homeless. Her friends offered up
their basement apartment rent free, and she accepted. It was humiliating.
She was starting over all over. And then there was Spence.
She was done with him. He was behind bars, but
he had nothing. Even after everything that he had done
to her. She couldn't live with the thought of him
(17:47):
not having toothpaste or deodorant. She was not that kind
of person.
Speaker 5 (17:52):
He's still a human being, and he at the time
is my husband. I'd put money in his commissary account,
but it was never a lot. It was like maybe
twenty dollars here and there.
Speaker 1 (18:18):
As Bence's sentencing date got closer, he appealed to his
friends and family, which included Jen's close social circle, asking
them to write letters on his behalf. He asked Jennifer
to pass a message onto the group. Here's an excerpt
from the letter.
Speaker 7 (18:33):
Dear Villagers, I'm a man who comes to you with
a humble heart and zero pride for all of the
obvious reasons. I am not asking for your forgiveness because
I'm not there yet and I don't deserve that anyway.
I am asking for your help. However, why am I
doing this. It's because I am fighting for my life.
(18:56):
It's because I have clearly never been in such a
place of need. But I am now. What I did
to Jennifer and how I treated our marriage is something
that I cannot only never fix, but also something I
cannot ever apologize enough for doing. I will never be
able to give back to her the things that I
have taken. My only hope is that she moves on
(19:18):
from this life bomb that I dropped on her as
soon as she possibly can. I am coming to you because,
despite how horrible I was to Jennifer, I hope and
pray that you don't see me as the person the
media and my charges are making me out to be.
I hope that the Spencer you know or knew is
not that person that has been described. For my upcoming
(19:42):
arraignment hearing, I'm asking people who know me to consider
writing a character reference letter to be given to my
judge and the DA. Obviously, I'm wanting to get out
of jail as soon as possible. You all know, of course,
that the three kids are all in college, and I
am desperate to get out so that I can support
them in every way emotionally, spiritually, parentally, and financially. What
(20:06):
it will do for my case, I believe will be
so very important. I wish you all the very best,
and thank you for being such an incredible friend to Jennifer.
Much love, Thanks Spencer.
Speaker 5 (20:20):
He brings up the kids. That is when my blood
started to boil. That is his first thing that he tried,
using those kids, he says, I hope you remember the
person that you know and not the one that the
media is making me out to be. Well, he is
(20:44):
the person the media is making them out to be.
It's all true.
Speaker 1 (20:51):
Several people did write letters of support for Spencer, but
none of them were the Villagers. Sentencing day came without
much warning.
Speaker 5 (21:01):
I had planned to go and sit in the back.
Jill planned to go with me and says she would
hold my hand. But I wanted to go, not as
support for him, but just to witness everything and hear
it for myself. Unfortunately, the court date came up all
(21:25):
of a sudden and there wasn't any preparation for it.
Speaker 1 (21:29):
Spenser pled guilty to five counts of sexual assault by
a teacher. For each count, he was sentenced to twenty years,
with five years to be served in confinement, serving them concurrently,
he was going to state prison.
Speaker 5 (21:44):
I'm pretty sure that the evidence was stacked way way
against him. As soon as it was over, he called me.
He said he asked to say something to the victim's
pa parents and the mom said, we don't want to
hear anything you have to say.
Speaker 10 (22:07):
You know.
Speaker 5 (22:08):
He went into all of this thinking, I am an
eagle scout, I'm in the Air Force reserves, I'm a
school teacher. I was Teacher of the Year. I'm a
great dad. Look at these people that are speaking on
(22:29):
my behalf. And it didn't work. He couldn't talk his
way out of it.
Speaker 3 (22:36):
This time.
Speaker 1 (22:38):
There was one very small consolation. Spencer could be sentenced
under the first Offender Statute. The intent of the law
was to give first time offenders a chance to learn
from their mistake and move on with their lives out
the burden of a conviction.
Speaker 5 (22:52):
The benefit is that after the twenty years everything will
be wiped off his record, so he will not be
considered a felon anymore. He can vote again and the
slate is white clean for him. Having that title of
first defender was like, you know, a notch on his belt,
(23:16):
I think.
Speaker 1 (23:18):
But remember how he took the student into a hotel
that was not in Cobb County but in Cherokee County,
a different jurisdiction. Spender was indicted for that charge several
months later. On July fifth, twenty nineteen.
Speaker 5 (23:33):
After he'd been sent to prison, they woke him up
in the middle of the night to transport him from
Wilcox Prison back up to Cherokee County to have a
hearing for that case. He was really disappointed because he
didn't think that they were going to move forward with that.
(23:55):
So just by picking a hotel that happened to be
in another county, he got another twenty year sentence for.
Speaker 1 (24:05):
Cherokee County's District Attorney, Spencer Hearn wasn't a first time offender.
He was now a repeat offender. You would no longer
qualify for first offender status. Cherokee County gave them the
same sentence also to run concurrently. Upon release, Spencer Hearn
will have to register as a sex offender. Cobb County
(24:28):
District Attorney Flynn Brody Jr.
Speaker 10 (24:31):
As a sexual predator. That is a scarlet letter for
the rest of your life. It'll limit the types of
jobs he can have. It'll limit the places that they
can live. They'll have to report everywhere they go. Anytime
they cross state lines, they have to report that they're
sexual predator in that particular state. It really limits them
as far as their future is concerned, and rightfully so,
(24:53):
because we know they're a predator and they have to
be controlled.
Speaker 1 (24:58):
The court proceedings, the apology letters from Spencer, they were
all distractions. Most days after the arrest, Jennifer was alone
with her thoughts. She was simmering in the sadness, fury,
and trauma of this massive betrayal. How did she get here?
A successful, confident, secure woman with everything was now just
(25:20):
fighting to get through every day.
Speaker 9 (25:23):
None of this had anything to do with her. She
had not done anything wrong at all, and this horrible
thing happened to her.
Speaker 1 (25:32):
Jen needed to put all the pieces together. She needed
to make sense of it all. Jennifer was tormented by
the spends she didn't know, by the women that were
involved with him, especially the high school student. But she
didn't want to sit at home with her trauma buried
under the covers, hiding from the world, so she decided
(25:54):
to confront it, to go out and meet the other
people who had been impacted by spends us her instead
of hiding. She wanted to know everything about who she
married and what he had done. For the past eleven years,
Jennifer had been living in a sea of lies. Now
she wanted the truth that would be the start of
(26:16):
her healing. On the next episode of Betrayal, Jennifer meets
with Spencer's most vulnerable victim, his former student. The young
woman in her twenties now is breaking her silence.
Speaker 3 (26:31):
I'm shaking.
Speaker 6 (26:32):
Yeah you too.
Speaker 1 (26:38):
If you'd like to reach out to the Betrayal team,
email us at Betrayal Pod at gmail dot com. That's
Betrayal Pod at gmail dot com. Betrayal is a production
of Glass Podcasts, a division of Glass Entertainment Group, in
partnership with iHeart Podcasts. The show was executive produced by
Nancy Glass and Jennifer Fason, hosted and produced by me
(27:00):
Andrea Gunning, written and produced by Kerry Hartman, also produced
by Ben Fetterman. Our iHeart team is Ali Perry and
Jessica Crinchick. Special thanks to voice actor Todd Gans. Sound
editing and mixing done by Mount Tavecchio. Betrayal's theme was
composed by Oliver Baines. Music library provided by my Music
(27:20):
and For more podcasts from iHeart, visit the iHeartRadio app,
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
This podcast discusses sexual assault. Please take care while listening.
On December thirtieth, twenty twelve, Spencer Heron and Jennifer Fason
were married.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Let us pray, God of all love and mercy, make
this a sacred place wholly by your presence and by
the love that we celebrate today. Help us to find
in this couple's love and laughter the love and laughter
you share for us.
Speaker 3 (00:30):
Amen, Jennifer.
Speaker 4 (00:32):
Ever since I saw you walk into that hotel lobby
last year, I've known what I'm supposed to do with
the rest of my life. I feel beyond honor to
know you, to love you, and to accept the most
privilege of all things being your husband.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
Nearly six years later, on August sixteenth, twenty eighteen, Heron
was indicted on five counts of sexual assault by a
teacher on school property in Cobb County, Georgia.
Speaker 4 (00:58):
You will never have to question my love devotion to you,
because there's nothing else that I want to spend my
time doing except showing you those things. I am so
in love with you.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
Nearly nine months later, on April eighth, twenty nineteen, Spencer
was indicted for sexually assaulting the same student in a
hotel in Turkey County, Georgia. Spencer told the victim to
stay down in an effort to hide her while driving
her from Kel High School to a hotel.
Speaker 2 (01:27):
Having witnessed the covenant that you have made today and
celebrated the love that you share, it is my privilege
to pronounce you husband and wife.
Speaker 3 (01:37):
You may kiss.
Speaker 1 (01:49):
I'm Andrea Gunning and this is a trayal Episode two.
The aftermath.
Speaker 5 (02:04):
The judge set a fifty five thousand dollars cash bond,
so we couldn't get him out if we tried, couldn't
put the house up or anything like that. Fifty five
thousand dollars is a lot of money, so he stayed
in jail. It was almost like a wake, almost like
someone had died, because people just kept coming over.
Speaker 1 (02:28):
In the days after the news broke, Jennifer and Spencer's
friend group were in disbelief and rallied around her. Her
friend Danielle was one of the first people Jennifer reached
out to, and upon hearing the news, Danielle drove straight
to Jennifer's house.
Speaker 6 (02:43):
Oh what the fuck. I couldn't wrap my head around
there being any truth to it. All I could do
was just be there for her and let her know
that she had a huge community who was not going
to let her down.
Speaker 1 (02:55):
Jen's neighbor Jail knew Spence, and she just couldn't process it.
Speaker 3 (03:00):
Like no, no, no, no, nope.
Speaker 5 (03:01):
It was like her calling me and speaking to me
in Mandarin because I was just like, I don't know
what you're saying to me right now.
Speaker 1 (03:08):
Spencer's moogshot was all over the news, not just an Atworth,
but nationally and internationally. There was no hiding it. Jennifer
had to deal with the shame of what her husband
had done. The victim told investigators that during the summer
of twenty sixteen, Spencer met with her at school several
times for a non existent school club meeting. She said
(03:31):
that he would text her and tell her when he
would be at the school and where to find him.
That would give her a reason to be at Kel
High School. Spencer began groping the victim on several different occasions,
and his behavior continued into the fall semester. Law enforcement
also learned that in twenty seventeen, Spencer started having sexual
relations with the student inside the school on multiple occasions.
(03:55):
She was a sophomore. She provided some devastating des details
that were contained in the criminal warrant as a warning.
Some of them are difficult to hear. For example, when
she began crying because it hurt, Spencer told her to
be quiet. Also, he insisted that he not used protection
because he was quote unquote fixed.
Speaker 6 (04:17):
You know, it was sickening to know that the accusation
was coming from someone the same age as his youngest.
That was really difficult for us. How do you wrap
your head around that?
Speaker 1 (04:29):
And there were plenty of people who couldn't channel.
Speaker 7 (04:32):
Woos Lauren pos and talked to one of his former
students tonight. She's live outside the Cobb County jail, was
what she learned.
Speaker 8 (04:37):
People we spoke with are skeptical of the charges because
you don't always know what's the truth is. The two
former students who did not want to go on camera
told me Haron was a great coach and teacher. The
other student added Haron was a professional and kind hearted.
She told me she does not believe the allegations are true.
Speaker 1 (04:57):
But Jennifer knew they were true. Spencer had admitted it.
Now she was confronted with something else. Two days after
Spencer's arrest, Jennifer uncovered a dark secret life. Her husband
had been living a trove of her husband's lovers, sex partners,
and prostitutes that dated back to the beginning of their
(05:18):
marriage and beyond. He kept everything, photos, videos, emails, and
text exchanges between him and at least fifty other women
littered his computer.
Speaker 6 (05:31):
She had gotten into his email to reset the password
for his Facebook, and that's when she was able to
shut down his social media. She was just looking to
protect him, protect him, protect the family. But once she
logged into his email, it was over and there's just
no going back. I don't think that anybody expected for
(05:54):
her to find what she found. I call it his
trophy case. It was an entire catalog of emails and
correspondents with women years and years and years. I mean,
he saved everything. He saved the rejection emails, he saved
(06:19):
every photo, He backed up the photos that he got
from his Facebook. He was not who we thought he was.
Speaker 9 (06:28):
She told us that she was going to file for divorce.
Speaker 5 (06:31):
Spence was literally living a double life. On one hand,
he's living as the perfect, doting, loving husband, great father,
teacher of the year. Air Force banned he was even
(06:54):
an Eagle scout.
Speaker 1 (06:56):
Jennifer's sister Chrissy, was the voice of reason and probably
understood Jennifer better than anyone.
Speaker 9 (07:02):
She had discovered all of the other women and the emails,
and I think she was obsessed about that because it
was easier than actually being sad about it. She only
showed me one thing because I just don't want to
see I didn't need to see it, but I think
she had to because it was Spencer. You still don't
believe it.
Speaker 1 (07:23):
Jennifer and Spence got married on December thirtieth, twenty twelve.
She found photos of fourteen different women, many of them nude,
within the first year of their marriage.
Speaker 6 (07:35):
There were two that I knew. One is someone who
became friends of ours through the wine bar. Her and
her husband would come in pretty regularly.
Speaker 1 (07:45):
The wine bar. It was a big part of Jennifer
and Spence's life. It had been a dream of Jennifer's
to own one.
Speaker 5 (07:55):
Spencer and I talked about opening a coffee shop when
we first moved here, because Atworth has this small town
feel and it's got this great main street. It somehow
evolved into a wine bar, which we opened and had
for two years. This was a place where the neighborhood
(08:17):
really came together. All we had to do was open
up the doors and the neighborhood just came in and
they introduced themselves and they hung out and we all
just became friends and this really great community. Having that
wine bar was a way to play hostess to the neighborhood.
Speaker 1 (08:41):
And it turns out it was also a sexual playground
for Spencer, who found new prospects, seduced women, and even
had sex here.
Speaker 5 (08:51):
I think we just have this great bar, and Spence
was basically using it as his I have seen messages
where he says, while that blowjob you gave me in
the bathroom last night was amazing, or photos of somebody
(09:13):
in the bathroom taking a picture of herself and sending
it to him. He used to put a sign on
the door apparently that said back in five minutes or
back in ten minutes, and then would have sex in there.
Speaker 1 (09:26):
Jennifer's mother, Gail just couldn't wrap her head around the audacity.
Speaker 2 (09:31):
It's like in my business too.
Speaker 5 (09:33):
I mean, is there no place sacred?
Speaker 2 (09:36):
Unbelievable? It's absolutely unbelievable.
Speaker 1 (09:40):
But there were dozens and he met them in all
kinds of ways. Jennifer discovered evidence of a year long
affair with a woman from his running.
Speaker 6 (09:48):
Club, and then another one was in the military with him.
They were all very different from who Jennifer is as
a person.
Speaker 1 (09:57):
Spencer juggled multiple conquests at the same time. The affairs
he was having with the women overlapped, and he stayed
in touch with them through sordid text exchanges. It's fair
to assume that people behave differently with secret lovers during
affairs than they might with their own spouses, but reading
his text was like reading a novel. He was a
fictional character. The messages showed that Spencer had secret fetishes.
(10:21):
Just a warning. The texts are explicit, and maybe the
most alarming part is realizing that your own partner wrote them,
and that's what jen faced when she discovered these text messages.
Note all of the following were sent to adult women.
Speaker 7 (10:37):
Will you actually punch me this time? I'm not fucking around.
I need you to hurt me. That's the point, the
entire point.
Speaker 1 (10:49):
Was he into pain or was it the rush? Jennifer
had no idea because she had no clue that he
liked to be hit Spencer also liked his lovers to
refer to him as Daddy. Send outy a picture was
a frequent request in his fantasy life. Jennifer noticed he
seemed to enjoy a playful and sometimes not so playful,
(11:10):
dominating persona. There were other texts where Spencer was in
touch with former students. Here he keeps trying to persuade
one of them to get together.
Speaker 7 (11:22):
I remember you being in class. You're always so much
fun and so sweet. I hope you could tell that
I was always super fond of you. We have a
cool connection, your gorgeous fact. We need to hang out.
I can't wait.
Speaker 3 (11:43):
I dig you.
Speaker 1 (11:46):
Eventually, the young woman asks how are you and your wife?
Speaker 3 (11:50):
Though?
Speaker 7 (11:51):
Okay, I guess you know how relationships are. Can you
see how I might have a crush on you?
Speaker 1 (11:59):
You know how relationships are. He barely acknowledges the question
and brings it back to the conversation he really wanted
to have. In another exchange, he mentions with holding sex
from Jennifer.
Speaker 7 (12:13):
When I know that we're going to meet, I like
depriving myself, so I avoid sex with her if it
even comes up.
Speaker 1 (12:22):
And to another he references tension at home for more excitement.
Speaker 7 (12:27):
By the way, Jen and I are fighting right now,
so I am in an even freakier and more amped
up mood to test the waters. And then there was
this I am a single man for the next six days.
If you want to hook up, I'm still very interested.
Speaker 1 (12:46):
That's a tech spencer sent when Jennifer was traveling for work.
But the person Jennifer saw when she returned with someone
happy to see her.
Speaker 5 (12:53):
He'll be jumping up, you know, saying hi, wife, welcome home.
It's almost like an outer body experience, because you can't
prepare yourself for something like that, especially when it's the
last thing you expect to happen.
Speaker 1 (13:22):
Jennifer needed to get away from it all, so she
went to stay with her sister in La.
Speaker 9 (13:28):
During the time that she stayed with me, she went
from angry to.
Speaker 3 (13:31):
Really, really fat.
Speaker 9 (13:34):
She started thinking it was because of her that she
wasn't enough. And I didn't cry when she was here,
but as soon as she left, I cried, I think
for two days straight because.
Speaker 1 (13:47):
She hated herself.
Speaker 9 (13:48):
You know, like we did have plans to go and
need some friends, but she didn't want to go because
she didn't want people to think she was a loser,
and a loser turned into ugly, a loser turned into fat.
She's none of those things. Her self esteem, I mean,
the saddest part is the effect it had. No matter
(14:11):
how many times you say that it wasn't her fault,
she couldn't hear it. It was so sad just to
watch someone who was so beautiful and vibrant and confident
and smart turn into someone so small or thought that
they were so small and unlovable.
Speaker 1 (14:34):
Christy remembered something from a past conversation she had with
Spencer at a dinner party.
Speaker 9 (14:39):
I had asked Spence and his friend. I said, you know,
do you guys ever get nervous with the young girls
these days? And Spencer had this look on his face
because he was being thoughtful about it. And Spence said, well,
I never meet any of my students alone. I do.
(15:00):
I always have the door open. But there was a
pause there that made me think. It didn't make me
pause because I thought he had done something, but it
made me pause because I thought he wasn't saying something
he wanted to say. And I'm not gonna lie. That
was the first time that I thought, say it's Spence Spence.
Speaker 1 (15:21):
Never made bail, and although all of his friends and
family knew that he was incarcerated for sexual assault with
a student, he was determined to stay in touch and
make amends however he could.
Speaker 9 (15:31):
Jennifer mentioned that he wanted to write me an email
if he wants us all to love him. He has
this need for everyone to love him. He wants to
send emails and talk about how he's found God and
all of this stuff. And I was like, don't bother,
It's never going to happen. He's insane. Nothing he says
is true.
Speaker 1 (15:52):
Jennifer wouldturn home to Actworth to pick up the pieces.
The next casualty of Spencer's crimes. Jennifer's day to day
life life Spencer's income, all that household money was lost.
On top of that, her work was suffering from a
lack of sleep and horrible stress. She had spent a
lifetime building a reputation as a dependable and highly skilled producer,
(16:16):
but coworkers could see that she was distracted. Finally, there
would be the cost of a divorce attorney, and eventually
she had to sell her home. The house that jen
and Spen's bought together represented much more than their marriage.
Jen's sister understood it symbolized something greater stability.
Speaker 9 (16:37):
Growing up after my parents divorced, we moved around a
lot when we were younger. My sister Jennifer, John and
I my brother John. We were all very close, but
we also were always going into different schools twelve different
schools before eighth grade. Was kind of just needing to survive.
(16:59):
For Jennifer, she always wanted a home. She wanted to
stay in one place. She wanted a house. She wanted
the white picket fence because we didn't have that.
Speaker 5 (17:12):
You can't hide from the reality when those bills are due. Here,
I have a mortgage on a home we just bought together.
As hard as I tried, I can't make ends meet.
Speaker 1 (17:25):
Jennifer was broke and practically homeless. Her friends offered up
their basement apartment rent free, and she accepted. It was humiliating.
She was starting over all over. And then there was Spence.
She was done with him. He was behind bars, but
he had nothing. Even after everything that he had done
to her. She couldn't live with the thought of him
(17:47):
not having toothpaste or deodorant. She was not that kind
of person.
Speaker 5 (17:52):
He's still a human being, and he at the time
is my husband. I'd put money in his commissary account,
but it was never a lot. It was like maybe
twenty dollars here and there.
Speaker 1 (18:18):
As Bence's sentencing date got closer, he appealed to his
friends and family, which included Jen's close social circle, asking
them to write letters on his behalf. He asked Jennifer
to pass a message onto the group. Here's an excerpt
from the letter.
Speaker 7 (18:33):
Dear Villagers, I'm a man who comes to you with
a humble heart and zero pride for all of the
obvious reasons. I am not asking for your forgiveness because
I'm not there yet and I don't deserve that anyway.
I am asking for your help. However, why am I
doing this. It's because I am fighting for my life.
(18:56):
It's because I have clearly never been in such a
place of need. But I am now. What I did
to Jennifer and how I treated our marriage is something
that I cannot only never fix, but also something I
cannot ever apologize enough for doing. I will never be
able to give back to her the things that I
have taken. My only hope is that she moves on
(19:18):
from this life bomb that I dropped on her as
soon as she possibly can. I am coming to you because,
despite how horrible I was to Jennifer, I hope and
pray that you don't see me as the person the
media and my charges are making me out to be.
I hope that the Spencer you know or knew is
not that person that has been described. For my upcoming
(19:42):
arraignment hearing, I'm asking people who know me to consider
writing a character reference letter to be given to my
judge and the DA. Obviously, I'm wanting to get out
of jail as soon as possible. You all know, of course,
that the three kids are all in college, and I
am desperate to get out so that I can support
them in every way emotionally, spiritually, parentally, and financially. What
(20:06):
it will do for my case, I believe will be
so very important. I wish you all the very best,
and thank you for being such an incredible friend to Jennifer.
Much love, Thanks Spencer.
Speaker 5 (20:20):
He brings up the kids. That is when my blood
started to boil. That is his first thing that he tried,
using those kids, he says, I hope you remember the
person that you know and not the one that the
media is making me out to be. Well, he is
(20:44):
the person the media is making them out to be.
It's all true.
Speaker 1 (20:51):
Several people did write letters of support for Spencer, but
none of them were the Villagers. Sentencing day came without
much warning.
Speaker 5 (21:01):
I had planned to go and sit in the back.
Jill planned to go with me and says she would
hold my hand. But I wanted to go, not as
support for him, but just to witness everything and hear
it for myself. Unfortunately, the court date came up all
(21:25):
of a sudden and there wasn't any preparation for it.
Speaker 1 (21:29):
Spenser pled guilty to five counts of sexual assault by
a teacher. For each count, he was sentenced to twenty years,
with five years to be served in confinement, serving them concurrently,
he was going to state prison.
Speaker 5 (21:44):
I'm pretty sure that the evidence was stacked way way
against him. As soon as it was over, he called me.
He said he asked to say something to the victim's
pa parents and the mom said, we don't want to
hear anything you have to say.
Speaker 10 (22:07):
You know.
Speaker 5 (22:08):
He went into all of this thinking, I am an
eagle scout, I'm in the Air Force reserves, I'm a
school teacher. I was Teacher of the Year. I'm a
great dad. Look at these people that are speaking on
(22:29):
my behalf. And it didn't work. He couldn't talk his
way out of it.
Speaker 3 (22:36):
This time.
Speaker 1 (22:38):
There was one very small consolation. Spencer could be sentenced
under the first Offender Statute. The intent of the law
was to give first time offenders a chance to learn
from their mistake and move on with their lives out
the burden of a conviction.
Speaker 5 (22:52):
The benefit is that after the twenty years everything will
be wiped off his record, so he will not be
considered a felon anymore. He can vote again and the
slate is white clean for him. Having that title of
first defender was like, you know, a notch on his belt,
(23:16):
I think.
Speaker 1 (23:18):
But remember how he took the student into a hotel
that was not in Cobb County but in Cherokee County,
a different jurisdiction. Spender was indicted for that charge several
months later. On July fifth, twenty nineteen.
Speaker 5 (23:33):
After he'd been sent to prison, they woke him up
in the middle of the night to transport him from
Wilcox Prison back up to Cherokee County to have a
hearing for that case. He was really disappointed because he
didn't think that they were going to move forward with that.
(23:55):
So just by picking a hotel that happened to be
in another county, he got another twenty year sentence for.
Speaker 1 (24:05):
Cherokee County's District Attorney, Spencer Hearn wasn't a first time offender.
He was now a repeat offender. You would no longer
qualify for first offender status. Cherokee County gave them the
same sentence also to run concurrently. Upon release, Spencer Hearn
will have to register as a sex offender. Cobb County
(24:28):
District Attorney Flynn Brody Jr.
Speaker 10 (24:31):
As a sexual predator. That is a scarlet letter for
the rest of your life. It'll limit the types of
jobs he can have. It'll limit the places that they
can live. They'll have to report everywhere they go. Anytime
they cross state lines, they have to report that they're
sexual predator in that particular state. It really limits them
as far as their future is concerned, and rightfully so,
(24:53):
because we know they're a predator and they have to
be controlled.
Speaker 1 (24:58):
The court proceedings, the apology letters from Spencer, they were
all distractions. Most days after the arrest, Jennifer was alone
with her thoughts. She was simmering in the sadness, fury,
and trauma of this massive betrayal. How did she get here?
A successful, confident, secure woman with everything was now just
(25:20):
fighting to get through every day.
Speaker 9 (25:23):
None of this had anything to do with her. She
had not done anything wrong at all, and this horrible
thing happened to her.
Speaker 1 (25:32):
Jen needed to put all the pieces together. She needed
to make sense of it all. Jennifer was tormented by
the spends she didn't know, by the women that were
involved with him, especially the high school student. But she
didn't want to sit at home with her trauma buried
under the covers, hiding from the world, so she decided
(25:54):
to confront it, to go out and meet the other
people who had been impacted by spends us her instead
of hiding. She wanted to know everything about who she
married and what he had done. For the past eleven years,
Jennifer had been living in a sea of lies. Now
she wanted the truth that would be the start of
(26:16):
her healing. On the next episode of Betrayal, Jennifer meets
with Spencer's most vulnerable victim, his former student. The young
woman in her twenties now is breaking her silence.
Speaker 3 (26:31):
I'm shaking.
Speaker 6 (26:32):
Yeah you too.
Speaker 1 (26:38):
If you'd like to reach out to the Betrayal team,
email us at Betrayal Pod at gmail dot com. That's
Betrayal Pod at gmail dot com. Betrayal is a production
of Glass Podcasts, a division of Glass Entertainment Group, in
partnership with iHeart Podcasts. The show was executive produced by
Nancy Glass and Jennifer Fason, hosted and produced by me
(27:00):
Andrea Gunning, written and produced by Kerry Hartman, also produced
by Ben Fetterman. Our iHeart team is Ali Perry and
Jessica Crinchick. Special thanks to voice actor Todd Gans. Sound
editing and mixing done by Mount Tavecchio. Betrayal's theme was
composed by Oliver Baines. Music library provided by my Music
(27:20):
and For more podcasts from iHeart, visit the iHeartRadio app,
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Host
Andrea Gunning
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