Minister Charged With Bigamy; Molesting Conviction Revealed

INDIANAPOLIS -- An Indianapolis minister was charged with bigamy Monday after an anonymous tip sparked an investigation that also determined that he should be a registered sex offender following a 1993 child molesting conviction, police said.

Spencer K. Osborne, 36, faces two counts of bigamy, a Class D felony, 6News' Derrik Thomas reported.

Police said Osborne, an assistant pastor at the New Covenant Free Will Baptist Church in the 2400 block of North Sherman Drive, was married to two women at the same time.

Court documents showed that Osborne married Tonya Washington in September 1999 and Gidget Harris in February 2005. He was divorced from Washington in June 2005 and married Hope Tucker in November 2007.

Tucker, who was at Osborne's court hearing Monday, said she didn't know about the other wives and was shocked by "all of it."

The church's telephone number has been disconnected, and leaders could not be reached for comment Monday.

Indianapolis police Lt. Dave Young, commander of a special investigations unit said the molestation conviction predated the establishment of Indiana's sex offender registry.

"Our primary goal became getting him into the sex offender registration program," Young said. "He's teaching Sunday school, taking care of these kids and that just wasn't acceptable."

Investigators said that Osborne was supposed to register as a sex offender even though his conviction happened well before the law went into effect.

"Even though the law didn't exist at that time ... they are still required to register," said Indianapolis police Sgt. Paul Thompson. "The term was immediate, so I would assume that this person ... will register immediately."

Osborne was held Monday in the Marion County Jail on $15,000 bond. He is scheduled for an extradition hearing on child neglect charges from Kentucky on Tuesday morning, police said. Further information about that case was not immediately available.