Dad involved in sexual abuse of foster kids in Cape Coral gets 15-years in prison

MICHAEL BRAUN   | Fort Myers News-Press

A child abuse case that started with several children found intoxicated in a Cape Coral fast food restaurant in 2016 was partially resolved Tuesday with guilty and no contest pleas from their foster father.

“My clients hope they never see or hear from Daniel Spurgeon ever again,” said Birmingham, Alabama, attorney Tommy James, who represents the victims in related cases against Daniel and Jenise Spurgeon and the Department of Human Resources in Alabama.  “He is a despicable monster who made these children’s lives a nightmare." 

Spurgeon, 51, was transferred in November to Lee County Jail from the Limestone Correctional Center in Harvest, Alabama, where he is serving a 25-year prison sentence with no chance of parole. He had pleaded guilty to rape and sexual torture in 2019. 

Tuesday, before Judge Robert J. Branning in Lee County Court, Spurgeon received a 15-year prison sentence after he pleaded guilty to one count of sexual activity with a child and no contest to five other charges including multiple counts of lewd or lascivious molestation and child neglect. 

The sentence will run concurrently with Spurgeon's prison sentence in Alabama and he will be given credit for 1,612 days he has already served. He also will be designated as a sexual predator and can have no contact with the victims.

Spurgeon's wife, Jenise, 57, also faces charges in Lee County and  remains free on bond while she awaits trial in Alabama. She will next appear in Lee County Court on Jan. 5 for a pre-trial hearing.

The victims in the case, now ranging from pre-teen to adult, declined to comment.

James said his clients are pleased that Daniel Spurgeon is finally receiving justice in Florida.  

“My clients are now anxious for Jenise Spurgeon to receive the justice she deserves," he said. "She is just as responsible as Daniel for what happened to them.”

Seven lawsuits in Alabama that involve the former Cape Coral couple have been put on hold.

The lawsuits, against officials of the Alabama Department of Human Resources, involve millions in damages sought for seven children who the Spurgeons fostered or adopted. The abuses are claimed to have happened in Alabama and in Cape Coral.

The case against Daniel Spurgeon claimed child abuse occurred in 2016 when the couple lived in a $350,000, two-story home on SE 11th Place in Cape Coral.

According to investigators, the Spurgeons cared for about 50 children over the years as they lived in Florence, Alabama, and then in Cape Coral, where they moved in July 2015.

The Cape Coral investigation started when three teenage girls were reported to officers as being extremely intoxicated at a KFC. They told officers they lived with their adoptive/foster parents and seven other adopted/foster children. They told officers Daniel Spurgeon had given them the alcohol, according to a police report. They detailed being sexually and physically abused by Daniel Spurgeon.

Beyond the mental trauma, officers found that the children hadn't been to a doctor nor a dentist in years.

The Alabama lawsuits stem from the alleged long-term abuse and neglect in the Spurgeons' foster/adoptive homes that occurred primarily in Florence, Alabama.

The victims, six females and one male, included foster children and children the Spurgeons adopted. The adoptees had previously been fostered by them, according to police records.

The Cape Coral cases had been delayed due to multiple issues including a halt to transferring prisoners during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Connect with breaking news reporter Michael Braun: MichaelBraunNP (Facebook), @MichaelBraunNP (Twitter) or mbraun@news-press.com.