This stock photo depicts a closed-off crime scene. (MattGush / Getty Images)
By Michael Schwarz October 16, 2024 at 8:41am
Details continue to emerge, and we cannot know for sure what happened, but this case features such grotesque apparent injustices that, without indulging in unwarranted speculation, and assuming the truth of what we know so far, it does seem to constitute part of a larger pattern of attack against parents in general and fathers in particular.
According to The Washington Times, 36-year-old Aaron Spencer of Lonoke County, Arkansas, faces murder charges after allegedly shooting and killing 67-year-old Michael Fosler, whom Spencer found in a vehicle with his 14-year-old daughter.
Incredibly, authorities had already arrested Fosler in July on charges of stalking and sexually assaulting the girl. Fosler then posted a $50,000 bond and went free.
According to Heather Spencer, the accused father’s wife, Fosler faced pending felony charges and a December court date.
“Our family did not know this monster,” Mrs. Spencer said. “He just appeared in a place where our child should have been safe and got access to her phone number. And that’s all it took.”
The alleged grooming and rape of the teenage girl occurred over the summer. Mrs. Spencer identified Fosler as the boyfriend of a family friend.
According to Fox News, Mrs. Spencer wrote on Facebook that Fosler had a “no contact” order.
Around 1:10 a.m. on Oct. 8, however, Mr. Spencer reported the girl missing, according to the Times. Then, on their way to the Spencers’ home, Lonoke County Sheriff’s Office deputies learned that the father had discovered his daughter in Fosler’s car and that Mr. Spencer had apparently shot the alleged kidnapper and rapist dead.
“We absolutely called 911 during the entire event,” Mrs. Spencer wrote, per Fox. “We had no idea this man was in contact with our child again. He was waiting 6-9 felonies for what he did, not 2. He was looking at the rest of his pathetic life in jail, and our daughter was the only witness.”
Should parents keep cell phones away from their children until they’re at least 16 years old?
Mrs. Spencer also accused the FCSO of violating her family’s privacy while protecting Fosler’s, per the Times.
Lonoke County Sheriff John Staley, however, denied the charge.
“I have three daughters. I know she’s hurt right now, but there’s absolutely nobody I would put ahead of our children, their children, my children,” Staley said.
Meanwhile, on the social media platform X, Mr. Spencer’s arrest caused a predictable firestorm.
The dominant reaction was twofold.
First, X users wondered how an accused child rapist got out of jail and gained access to his alleged victim. This, of course, raised broader questions about the entire justice system.
Second, X users described Mr. Spencer’s alleged shooting of Fosler under those circumstances as not only justified but heroic.
In fact, one woman with more than 108,000 followers on X professed to know the murder suspect personally.
“Aaron is a family friend of mine. I promise he is a good man,” she wrote.
“He did what every good father would do — protect his child. Clearly the legal system won’t,” she later added.
Aaron is a family friend of mine.
I promise he is a good man.A man raped his 14 year old daughter. He was arrested, and let go on bond. He was given orders to stay away from her. She is the testimony witness.
He kidnapped her. While on call with 911, Aaron left to look for… pic.twitter.com/ArnYNcNlrv
— Among the Wildflowers (@deaflibertarian) October 13, 2024
Another X user called Mr. Spencer’s alleged shooting of Fosler “the normal reaction any father would & should have.”
Drop all charges on #AaronSpencer immediately. It’s the normal reaction any father would & should have. To punish a man for not allowing his daughter to keep being raped & kidnapped Should be Unconstitutional. Should be locking up the DA that are charging him, yet let Chomos go. https://t.co/NBvtA9B2iD
— Apocalypse Now (@Apocaly64302665) October 13, 2024
Likewise, other users denounced our justice system as a “joke,” extolled the father as a “hero” and demanded his release.
Arkansas father kills man who previously raped his daughter, got released on bail, violated no-contact order, and then kidnapped that same daughter. Our justice system is a joke. #FreeAaronSpencer https://t.co/AnUfj7mQS6
— classyDumpster🔥 (@angieloohoo) October 14, 2024
Aaron Spencer is a hero who did nothing wrong. He did as any good dad would: he protected his daughter from a rapist.
Spencer, 36, is charged with first degree murder in the slaying of 67-year-old Michael Foster whom he found with his 14-year-old daughter who’d been abducted.… pic.twitter.com/EDPTapxrrw
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) October 13, 2024
Let him out !!! pic.twitter.com/wNjM08yPOS
— Jason Neptune🌴 (@SobrietyCM) October 13, 2024
Of course, in an era when ordinary Americans understandably distrust powerful people, one should expect certain kinds of conspiracy theories.
“More is about to come to light, and this is much bigger than just this case. I am in contact with sources close to this and this is about to expose a much larger issue,” one X user wrote.
ARKANSAS FATHER ARRESTED FOR KILLING MAN FOUND WITH MISSING DAUGHTER
Aaron Spencer, 36, was arrested after allegedly shooting and killing Michael Fosler, 67, whom he found in a vehicle with his missing 14-year-old daughter.
Fosler had a “no contact order” for stalking and… pic.twitter.com/WurRH7g9SA
— Scott Bales (@ScottBalesX) October 14, 2024
Whatever the truth might be, it seems impossible to believe that we live under a justice system that allows a 67-year-old man accused of raping a 14-year-old girl to get so close to his alleged victim.
Moreover, when a father discovers that same alleged rapist in a vehicle with his teenage daughter, what right do we have to demand restraint on the father’s part?
Let us go further and assume Fosler’s innocence of that earlier alleged rape. Under what circumstances should a 67-year-old man have an unrelated 14-year-old girl in his car? What more evidence does a father need?
Finally, for reasons one struggles to articulate, this case does seem bigger than the individuals involved. One need not believe cryptic social media suggestions of sex trafficking in order to recognize that fathers — and parents more broadly — have come under a kind of attack that looks temporal but feels spiritual.
Michael Schwarz holds a Ph.D. in History and has taught at multiple colleges and universities. He has published one book and numerous essays on Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and the Early U.S. Republic. He loves dogs, baseball, and freedom. After meandering spiritually through most of early adulthood, he has rediscovered his faith in midlife and is eager to continue learning about it from the great Christian thinkers.
Michael Schwarz holds a Ph.D. in History and has taught at multiple colleges and universities. He has published one book and numerous essays on Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and the Early U.S. Republic. He loves dogs, baseball, and freedom. After meandering spiritually through most of early adulthood, he has rediscovered his faith in midlife and is eager to continue learning about it from the great Christian thinkers.
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