Levittown Man Deemed Sexually Violent Predator, Sent To State Prison

The Bucks County Justice Center as seen from a drone. File photo.

A former after-school program employee and babysitter was sentenced on Friday, Nov. 15, to 35 to 88 years in state prison for sexually assaulting boy and recording some of the abuse.

Gerald William Spoto, 42, of Bristol Township’s Levittown section, pleaded guilty in July at the Justice Center to numerous charges related to the sexual abuse and corruption of minor before Bucks County Court of Common Pleas Judge Jeffrey Finley.

Gerald William Spoto in his mugshot and a photo from the time of the alleged assaults. Credit: Bucks County District Attorney’s Office

Earlier this month, he received the sentence from Finley and was ordered to have no contact with the victims and take part in sexual offender treatment. He was deemed a sexually violent predator by the state Sexual Offenders Assessment Board.

Most of the sexual assaults against several of the victims occurred between 2000 and 2004, and the victims were between 7 and 13 years old at the time.

Spoto was formerly employed by the after-school program Neshaminy Kids Club and had babysat for some families in Lower Bucks County, according to authorities.

Spoto came into contact with many of his victims through his job at Neshaminy Kids Club, investigators said.

In total, law enforcement found that there were seven victims, including one that was discovered after investigators executed search warrants on Spoto’s home on Disk Lane in Bristol Township’s Levittown section, his electronic devices, and his Toyota Rav4.

The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Vinny Vella reported last year that prosecutors said Spoto would have access to children if released and he attempted to adopt a child.

The victims and their families packed a courtroom and presented more than a dozen victim impact statements to the judge, while his family told the court he was a caring person who always helped.

“My hope is that his last years are spent as lonely and afraid as my son and these boys felt,” the father of one of the victims told the judge.

The Bucks County Courier Times reported that Spoto said in court that he was “remorseful” and he had been abused by a male family member as a child.

“This sexual predator is a parent’s worst nightmare,” District Attorney Jennifer Schorn said. “He was someone who was in a position of trust tasked with caring for and protecting their children, when in fact it was an elaborate grooming scheme. It allowed him to have unfettered access so he could sexually victimize these children. There are few words that adequately express the depravity.”

“I praise the victims and their families for having the strength to come forward and trust the process,” Schorn said. “I commend the outstanding work done by the Middletown Township Police Department and my colleagues Kristin McElroy and Jennifer McInerney on the prosecution team.”

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