REUTERS
KAMPALA, Dec 21 (Reuters) – A U.S. couple detained in Uganda on charges of aggravated torture of a 10-year-old boy face an additional charge of aggravated child trafficking which carries the death penalty if they are convicted, the state prosecutor said on Wednesday.
Nicholas Spencer and his wife, Mackenzie Leigh Mathias Spencer, both 32, have been in custody in Uganda since Dec. 9 after they were charged with aggravated torture of the child who was living in their home under foster care in the capital Kampala. They have pleaded not guilty to that charge.
The new charge sheet seen by Reuters on Wednesday showed the couple have additionally been charged with “aggravated trafficking in children”. They have yet to enter a plea on that.
A lawyer for the couple, who was not identified, was quoted by Ugandan newspaper the Monitor as dismissing the case as a “fishing expedition” by authorities, saying they had no evidence. She was quoted as saying the new charge “doesn’t make sense”.
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