Jenise Rae Spurgeon pleads no contest in Cape Coral foster home abuse case
DAN GLAUN | Fort Myers News-Press
Former Cape Coral foster mother Jenise Rae Spurgeon pleaded no contest to five counts of felony child neglect Friday, ending a six-year case that included horrific abuse allegations in Florida and Alabama.
Lee County Circuit Judge Robert Branning approved a plea deal sentencing Spurgeon to five years of prison and 10 years of probation, during which she would be banned from adopting or fostering children.
"Your honor, this saga is over today," her defense attorney Peter Ringsmuth said in court.
Assistant State Attorney Francine Donnorummo said she had contacted eight of the 10 victims in the case, and they all approved of the plea bargain.
In February, Spurgeon, 58, pleaded guilty to multiple counts of aggravated child abuse in Alabama and was sentenced to 1 year in prison and 14 years of probation. She will serve the Lee County sentence concurrently with the Alabama judgment.
Two of the victims attended Friday's plea hearing and gave statements about the impact of Spurgeon's abuse, and a victim advocate spoke on behalf of one of the victims from Alabama.
"Jenise, you didn't break us. You only made us stronger," said one of Spurgeon's former foster daughters. "I hope prison treats you well, and I'm sure you will get everything you deserve."
Spurgeon spoke quietly and pulled at the skirt of her dress as she entered her plea. She was taken into custody following the hearing.
Spurgeon's husband, Daniel Spurgeon, pleaded guilty to rape and sexual torture in 2019 and was sentenced to 25 years in prison without parole by an Alabama judge. In 2020, he pleaded guilty to a count of sexual activity with a minor and no contest to other abuse charges in Lee County court. He received 15 year sentence that he is serving concurrently with his Alabama prison time.
The victims in the case included foster children and children who Spurgeon and her husband adopted. They had previously fostered the adoptees, according to police records.
The child abuse case started with three teenage girls found intoxicated in a Cape Coral fast food restaurant in July 2016 and grew to include charges in Alabama, when one of the children involved provided investigators with a timeline of the abuse.
The girls told Cape Coral police officers they lived with the Spurgeons, their adoptive/foster parents, and other adopted/foster children. They reported that Daniel Spurgeon had given them alcohol and accused him of physical and sexual abuse.
The Alabama case alleged long-term abuse and neglect in the Spurgeons' foster/adoptive homes that occurred primarily in Florence, Alabama. The Spurgeons’ three biological children born between 2001 and 2006, were not listed in police reports as among the children abused.
The victims have filed a civil suit against the Alabama Department of Human Resources, claiming the agency and its employees failed to address reports of abuse and neglect and left the victims with their abusers.
Breaking news reporter Michael Braun contributed to this report.