Exeter youth baseball coach denied release in child sex abuse images case

EXETER — A former Exeter youth baseball coach facing child sexual abuse image charges was denied acceptance into the county's pretrial release program due to concerns he remains a danger to the public.

Gregg Spaulding, formerly a coach for the Exeter Junior Baseball and Softball League, has been held at Rockingham County House of Corrections since his June 30 arrest on 26 counts of possession of child sexual abuse images. A judge ruled earlier this year he could potentially be released if the Rockingham County Supervised Pretrial Release program accepted him.

The program rejected Spaulding, however, according to an Oct. 6 filing in Rockingham Superior Court. The number of sexual abuse images police say they discovered and the fact at least one appeared to have been taken in his home, led to the program's decision.

"This causes great concern for the program when considering if a client may be acceptable," wrote Cpl. Anthony Sherman in a court filing Oct. 6. “The RCSPR program does not want the creation of new victims because of being placed out onto the program."

Spaulding, 56, has since been indicted on 19 of his felony charges. He is currently scheduled for a Jan. 31 final pretrial conference, with a trial slated for February.

Previous story: Exeter youth baseball coach charged with possession of child sex abuse images

Jail: Gregg Spaulding remains a 'danger to the public'

Spaulding and his attorney Joseph E. Welsh asked a judge in August to amend Spaulding’s bail so he could be released on personal recognizance bail or a cash bail of $5,000 on the condition he undergo treatment. In their proposal, Spaulding would have agreed not to possess a laptop, desktop, tablet or any cellphone with internet capability.

He also agreed not to use the internet except for court-ordered treatment and to not take any photographs or videos. They proposed Spaulding should have no unsupervised contact with children under 18 except his own three.

Judge Lisa English denied the request but wrote in an order Spaulding could be released if he qualified for the pretrial release program. However, Sherman wrote the circumstances of Spaulding’s case indicated Spaulding is a danger to the public.

Sherman wrote that Spaulding was found with more than 300 child abuse images on his phone hidden using a dark web app. He wrote that the program has no way of monitoring his internet usage.

“Even the monitoring apps that are out there can be circumvented with dark web apps, of which it appears Mr. Spaulding has experience with,” Sherman wrote.

He also noted that Spaulding was found with at least one photo of a child’s foot or feet that police say appeared to be taken in his bedroom. Spaulding had told authorities he had a “foot fetish” and had searched “young feet” when seeking images, police said this summer.

Sherman wrote that the motion by prosecutors to prevent Spaulding from being around even his own children could be a challenge if he is released. Lead Assistant Rockingham County Attorney Rusty Chadwick wrote in his own motion that Spaulding should not be around children under 18 including his own, though he indicated the state would agree to let Spaulding see his children while supervised.

“This may create a suitable housing issue for Mr. Spaulding,” Sherman wrote.

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Exeter youth baseball coach investigated after tip

Spaulding’s alleged possession of sexual abuse images was detected via cyber tip through the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and the New Hampshire Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, Exeter police said at the time of his arrest.

They said they learned through a Verizon account with Spaulding’s information that a file had been uploaded in March 2023 showing two children engaged in a sexual act. Further investigation revealed several uploads of similar images, they said.

A search warrant was executed in June for Spaulding’s home and car where his cellphone was seized and examined forensically. Police discovered images that included toddlers and females younger than 4, and he was arrested June 30.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Exeter baseball coach denied release in child sex abuse images case