Frederick Man Sentenced to Serve 19.5 years in the Division of Correction for First-Degree Assault, Witness Intimidation, Possession of Child Pornography, Violation of Probation
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
OCTOBER 8, 2025
Frederick Man Sentenced to Serve 19.5 years in the Division of Correction for First-Degree Assault, Witness Intimidation, Possession of Child Pornography, Violation of Probation
Frederick, MD – Yesterday, in Frederick County Circuit Court, The Honorable Julia Minner sentenced 39-year-old Johnathan Robert Spacil to serve an overall sentence of 19.5 years in the Division of Corrections for First-Degree Assault, Witness Intimidation, and related crimes. His active sentence also included prison time for Possession of Child Pornography, and Violation of Probation. The Defendant pled guilty to all counts on September 12, 2025.
The Court suspended an additional 25 years and upon release the Defendant is ordered to serve 5 years of supervised probation with all standard conditions, including a prohibition against contacting the Victim. The Defendant must register as a Tier I Sex Offender for Life and adhere to COMET Supervision.
On February 5, 2025, Deputies from the Frederick County Sherrif’s Office responded to a physical domestic violence incident. The female victim called police to say that the Defendant had held her down and “choked” her earlier in the day. She said she was calling from the bathroom at Sam’s Club, but had to disconnect abruptly. Deputies quickly located the victim and learned that the incident had actually happened at home. After being strangled, the victim convinced the Defendant to take her shopping in hopes that she could call police safely from a public place. Deputies observed an apparent bite-mark on her face, extremely red skin on her face and finger marks on both sides of her neck. The Sherrif’s Office placed the Defendant under arrest. The Defendant remained held without bond pending trial, and tried multiple times to manipulate the victim into not participating in the prosecution.
During the course of the subsequent months the victim disclosed to police multiple other instances of abuse. The Defendant was on probation for assaulting the Victim when this incident occurred. The Victim had chosen to stay in the relationship and not participate in the prosecution as a victim at that time. Following this recent incident, the Victim was able to participate and address the Court at sentencing, detailing her journey from victim to survivor.
Further, Detectives forensically investigated the Defendant’s cell phone, discovering multiple images of child pornography of victims under nine years of age.
State’s Attorney Charlie Smith stated “Prosecutors doing this work understand that it often takes a domestic violence victim upwards of seven times to leave an abusive relationship. Domestic violence is cyclical and escalates over time without intervention. When victims feel safe and healed enough to participate in prosecutions, we can see true accountability for an offender. That is exactly what happened here.”
Assistant State’s Attorney, Domestic Violence Unit, Will Grove, represented the State of Maryland.
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Press Contact:
Jacqueline Rottmann
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301-600-2972
100 West Patrick Street
Frederick, Maryland 21701