Spence has long criminal history in Ohio, Kentucky

An Ashland, Kentucky man who was sentenced for a sex crime in Lawrence County has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for a kidnapping in Boyd County.

Wallace D. Spence, 57, was sentenced to 11 years in prison in August by Lawrence County Judge Charles Cooper after he entered a guilty plea to the charges that he compelled a juvenile “by force or threat of force” to engage in sexual conduct. He also had to register as a tier three sex-offender.

On Friday, Kentucky Attorney General Andy Beshear and his Special Prosecutions Unit announced that Spence had been sentenced to a prison sentence of three decades for a kidnapping he committed in Boyd County and being a persistent felon. He will not be eligible for parole until he serves at least 20 years and registers as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

Spence was arrested in May 2016 for kidnapping a 14-year-old girl he met at a church he was staying at. Spence talked to the girl and convinced her to leave her house and stay in South Point for three days before returning to her home.

“The punishment in this case does not undo the trauma inflicted on the victim, but it brings closure, some justice and the sex offender registration should protect others in the community,” Beshear said.

Spence has a long criminal history dating to 1984. In 2008, Spence pleaded guilty in Illinois to concealing a homicide and got to eight and a half years in prison.

In 2011, he pleaded guilty to a charge of manslaughter for killing a man in 1984 and got 12 years. He was released from prison June 2013.