SPENCERVILLE — Spencerville Mayor Phil Briggs is currently being held in the Allen County Jail after being arrested Monday on a charge of pandering obscenity involving a minor, according to a release from the Allen County Sheriff’s Office.
At approximately 1 p.m. Monday, the sheriff’s office was contacted by the Spencerville Police Department for assistance from the office’s detective bureau in an investigation involving a claim of pandering. Detectives then interviewed two teenage females, where they learned that their mother’s live-in boyfriend may have been recording them in various stages of undress. A search warrant was executed at the home, with another search warrant executed on a laptop computer.
The boyfriend was identified as Briggs, 45, who after being interviewed by detectives, was arrested on the pandering charge, a second-degree felony. He is being held at the jail and no bond has been set.
Briggs was sworn in as mayor Dec. 31, 2019 by outgoing mayor PJ Johnson. His term is set to expire at the end of this year, and there is currently no filing for re-election at the Allen County Board of Elections, according to the board’s website.
Spencerville Village Administrator Sean Chapman submitted a statement Tuesday attributed to Spencerville Village Council offering its reaction to the arrest.
“As council members for the Village of Spencerville we are processing the recent news surrounding Mayor Briggs,” the statement read. “However, as the council for the village, we want to ensure the residents of Spencerville that business will proceed as expected and each and every one of us will continue to perform our elected duties for the village.”
