Former Frederick County Correctional Officer Charged With Sexual Contact With Inmate
Anthony Travis Spencer resigned during the investigation. Court filings describe disputed accounts, and his attorney has moved to dismiss the misdemeanor case.
HERE'S WHAT WE KNOW
Spencer faces one misdemeanor charge and resigned while the investigation was ongoing. The inmate repeatedly denied sexual contact when interviewed, and the surveillance footage did not directly capture it, according to the charging documents described in the report. The defense has sought dismissal. The reported court schedule places the pretrial conference in February 2027 and trial in April.
A former Frederick County correctional officer faces a misdemeanor charge alleging sexual contact with a female inmate at the county’s Adult Detention Center.
Anthony Travis Spencer, 36, of Pasadena, was suspended after the allegation was reported and later resigned while the investigation continued, according to the Sheriff’s Office account reported by The Frederick News-Post.
The charge concerns alleged conduct on June 6, 2026. It is an accusation, not a finding of guilt. Spencer’s attorney, Peter S. O’Neill, has filed a motion to dismiss alleging defects in the prosecution and charging documents; the newspaper reported that the motion did not provide further detail.
The evidence described in the report includes accounts from correctional officers, surveillance footage and information recovered from Spencer’s cellphone. It also includes repeated denials by the woman at the center of the allegation.
According to charging documents cited by the newspaper, officers reported statements they said the woman made about encounters with Spencer. She denied making those statements when investigators questioned her. One officer also described an encounter near the laundry room and a subsequent conversation in which Spencer allegedly acknowledged touching the woman’s buttocks.
Investigators said surveillance footage placed Spencer and the woman near a camera blind spot in the area of the laundry room. The footage did not directly show sexual contact.
Detectives searched Spencer’s Pasadena residence on July 1 and examined his cellphone. Charging documents describe internet searches concerning relationships between correctional officers and inmates, DNA evidence and potential legal consequences.
Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Katie Robine said the agency prohibits sexual contact or relationships between correctional staff and inmates. She said an officer promptly notified command staff after receiving an inmate’s report, leading to an internal review and criminal investigation in consultation with prosecutors.
The newspaper also reported a separate 2024 allegation involving Spencer. Robine said that earlier allegation was investigated and determined to be unfounded.
Spencer was charged Aug. 27. An arrest warrant issued Aug. 30 was served Sept. 3, and he was released on his own recognizance, according to the court records described in the report. Prosecutors filed a criminal information in circuit court on Oct. 5.
The reported schedule lists a pretrial conference for Feb. 8, 2027, and a jury trial beginning April 5, 2027. Those dates remain subject to court changes.
Robine said the agency did not issue a separate public announcement because it determined there was no immediate public safety concern. Spencer and O’Neill did not respond to the newspaper’s requests for comment before publication.
WHAT IT MEANS
The case remains unresolved. Readers should distinguish the criminal charge and investigators’ allegations from proven facts, while recognizing the conflicting accounts and limits of the surveillance evidence described in the report.
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