Pennsylvania man accused of raping teen facing more than 5,500 charges

CLEARFIELD, Pa. (WPVI) -- A Clearfield County man is facing thousands of criminal charges, including rape and sexual assault of a minor, in connection with the alleged abuse of a teenage girl over several years, according to court documents.

Nicholas Allen Spencer, 37, was arrested this week and charged with 5,538 offenses stemming from an investigation that began in May.

According to a criminal complaint, the investigation started after a 16-year-old girl told police she had been receiving sexually explicit messages from Spencer since she was about 12 years old.

During an interview with police on May 17, the girl said she had deleted messages that were sexual in nature, investigators said. Authorities reported that they were able to observe messages sent by Spencer to the girl that same day.

According to the complaint, those messages instructed her to delete communications and included statements about going to jail.

Spencer denied the allegations. Court documents state that he also told investigators he could not recall the most recent message, despite it having allegedly been sent only hours earlier.

On July 28, the girl was interviewed at the Child Advocacy Center of Clearfield County. During that interview, she reported that Spencer had raped her "more times than she can count," according to the criminal complaint.

The complaint also states that she recalled having nightmares when she was 13 and fearing that others would find out.

The girl said she did not disclose the assaults during her police interview in May.

An arrest warrant was issued on Tuesday.

He is being held at the Clearfield County Prison after being denied bail.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Aug. 12.