Ex-con charged in boy's slaying

FREDERICK, Md. (AP) - A mentally retarded man with a history of sex offenses was charged Tuesday with killing a 9-year-old boy he met a few days after his release from prison.

Elmer Spencer Jr., 44, was arrested at a shelter Monday night, Police Chief Regis Raffensberger said.

Spencer was freed Nov. 14 after serving four years of a 10-year sentence for assault and escape, said Leonard Sipes, a spokesman for the state corrections department.

He said Spencer was released early because of good-time credits accrued during the more than 13 years he had served of a previous 22-year sentence for sexually assaulting a child, Sipes said.

Police said Spencer was tracked down through an acquaintance who identified him as the man seen with the boy in surveillance videotapes taken at two convenience stores.

Spencer was charged with first-degree murder and a bond hearing is set for Wednesday. He has not been assigned a lawyer.

Christopher Ausherman's naked body was found Monday morning in a baseball dugout at an area field. Police received a 911 call, believed placed by Spencer, reporting that a boy had been beaten at a ballpark, Raffensberger said.

Police said the child was beaten but refused to say if he had been sexually assaulted. He was last seen by his mother, Mary Voit, shortly after nightfall Sunday.

''He asked me if he could go up to a friend's house to play, and I said 'Yeah, but don't go nowhere else,''' she told The Washington Post.

Spencer was convicted of assault in a 1996 case after a plea bargain reduced initial charges of attempted rape, court documents show.

Earlier in 1996, Spencer was also charged with third-degree sexual offense, assault and battery of a 7-year-old Frederick girl. Those charges were later dropped, according to court documents.