Va. Beach man in spanking case is denied bond

VIRGINIA BEACH

The three young women first became involved with a Beach restaurateur now facing sexual assault and abduction charges because he promised them college scholarships, room and board and weekly allowances, they testified at a preliminary hearing in General District Court on Thursday.

But the so-called Spencer Scholarship Program that 54-year-old Henry Allen Fitzsimmons offered them required obedience - and bare-bottomed spankings they said they submitted to out of fear.

After more than an hour of tearful testimony that included details of encounters between Fitzsimmons and each of the women, Judge Jesse Demps ruled there was enough evidence to support three charges of object sexual penetration and two charges of abduction, all felonies. He dismissed five misdemeanor assault charges brought by those and other women who said they were victims of the spankings.

A grand jury next will decide whether the five remaining charges merit a trial. Fitzsimmons will remain in jail without bond, Demps said.

Fitzsimmons' attorney, Moody E. "Sonny" Stallings Jr., called the accusations "wild."

"He's providing money to these so-called victims. Who's the victim here?" Stallings asked the judge.

Each of the women who testified Thursday said Fitzsimmons offered them the opportunity to go to college and better their lives.

"He was supposed to be like a mentor," one said.

None ever began their studies because he told them they were not yet ready, the women testified.

Still, they met with him weekly and abided by a set of rules; one woman testified Fitzsimmons ordered her to walk 20 blocks a day and carefully track her diet. She was also required to detail her spending, she said: "I had to stay in contact with him daily."

The spankings began for a 21-year-old "Spencer scholar" during what she thought was an initial counseling session at Fitzsimmons' hotel room, the woman testified. She said he gave her $300 afterward and told her he could have her arrested if she told anyone. She said the beatings continued for five months.

Fitzsimmons sexually assaulted her on three occasions, she testified. She said she moved into a shelter and went to police after the final incident.

The Virginian-Pilot generally doesn't identify alleged victims of sex crimes.

A second woman, 22, said she reported the spankings to police months after they occurred because the first woman had come forward and "stood up for us."

"At first, he helped me out financially. He helped me cope with my life," she testified. "He made himself to be very caring and to help me get my life back on track.... It just seemed like an amazing opportunity."

Then came the spankings, she said. Fitzsimmons blocked her exit from a hotel room until she submitted to a beating, the woman testified. A third woman, 20, described a similar experience.

"I think you're seeing a pattern of victims," prosecutor Tom Murphy told the judge. "These women are victims. These women are needy. These women are recruited."

Stallings said the women were motivated by a desire to get even. One of the accusers went to police because Fitzsimmons had fired her mother from Envy Bar and Grill at the Oceanfront, he said.

"They continued to work for him," Stallings said. "They continued to take money from him. They continued to ride around in limousines with him."

Kristin Davis, (757) 222-5131, kristin.davis@pilotonline.com