American Couple Accused of Torturing Child They Adopted in Uganda Will Pay Fine After Plea to Lesser Charges

Nicholas and Mackenzie Spencer were arrested in December 2022 and were accused of torturing their 10-year-old foster son

A South Carolina couple living in Uganda who'd been accused of torturing their foster son over the course of two years will not return to jail after pleading guilty to a lesser charge, according to multiple news outlets.

Nicholas and Mackenzie Spencer pleaded guilty Tuesday to lesser charges and were ordered to pay up to $28,000 to the 10-year-old boy, one of three children they took in from a Christian ministry in Kampala five years ago, according to a court filing cited by Reuters, BBC News, and Voice of America.

The married couple, both in their early 30s, were arrested in December 2022 and charged with aggravated torture, PEOPLE previously reported, citing Ugandan police.

The Spencers have lived and worked in the area of the Ugandan capital since 2017 after moving there to do humanitarian work.

Related: U.S. Couple Accused of Torturing 10-Year-Old Foster Son in Uganda Could Face Death Penalty

In 2018, they took three foster children into their home in Naguru, a Kampala suburb, and allegedly kept their 10-year-old foster son "barefoot and naked throughout the day,” according to an Ugandan police statement.

Police said the Spencers would sometimes allegedly force the boy to "squat in an awkward position.” and made him sleep on a bare wooden platform without a mattress or bedding. The torture allegedly occurred between 2020 and 2022, per the statement.

A caretaker for the child reported the alleged torture to police last December and told local paper The Daily Monitor at the time that the Spencers allegedly kept the child confined to a small tiled room. She also alleged the couple kept him home from school and had a camera monitoring him at all times.

Related: American Couple Living in Uganda Accused of Torturing 10-Year-Old Foster Child

The Spencers, who were later also charged with aggravated child trafficking, have been out on bail since March after pleading guilty to the offense, according to VOA.

They received a two-month prison sentence, which they had served following their arrest, BBC News reports.

A judge on Tuesday found the couple guilty of six lesser charges, including inflicting cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, child neglect, and unlawful stay in Uganda and employment without a work permit, VOA reports. The couple were ordered to pay 100 million Ugandan shillings or up to $28,000 in compensation to the boy.

The VOA reports the Spencers will face jail time if they cannot pay the fines. The boy has reportedly since been placed in a children’s home.

David Mpanga, the couple’s lawyer, told Reuters the boy had psychiatric problems and that the Spencers were unable to properly care for him because they had no parenting experience.

If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.

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