Merced social worker charged with child molestation

A clinical social worker from Merced has been charged with sexually groping a teenage relative, according to Merced County Superior Court records.

Albert Dale Spangler has been charged with a felony count of committing lewd and lascivious acts on a 14-year-old girl, the Merced County District Attorney’s Office confirmed.

Spangler, 59, was scheduled to appear Wednesday in Merced County Superior Court but did not attend for medical reasons, attorneys said.

Merced police detectives arrested Spangler on Oct. 8 at his office in the 600 block of West Olive Avenue in Merced. Spangler posted a $100,000 bail bond and was released later that same day, according to Merced County Jail records.

Michael McKinney, the deputy district attorney prosecuting the case, said the allegations stem from a single incident that allegedly occurred May 22. McKinney declined to discuss any specifics in the case, but confirmed the allegations are related to Spangler’s personal life and not connected to his clinical practice.

Spangler’s attorney, C. Logan McKechnie, on Wednesday told Judge Ronald W. Hansen his client would need at least two weeks to handle his medical issues. Hansen rescheduled Spangler’s arraignment for Nov. 13.

McKechnie declined to comment on the case following Wednesday’s hearing.

The judge granted a request from the California Attorney General’s Office to suspend Spangler’s clinical license pending further notice. State prosecutors made the request on behalf of the California Board of Behavioral Sciences, the regulatory agency responsible for licensing clinical social workers.

McKechnie told the judge Spangler remains hospitalized in Stanislaus County.

Steve Sodergren, assistant executive officer for the Board of Behavioral Sciences, did not discuss any specifics of the case against Spangler, but said seeking a temporary license suspension is standard practice any time a licensee is charged with serious crimes.

“Typically (a suspension) is sought until the allegations are settled in the courts,” Sodergren told the Sun-Star. “It’s a matter of public protection.”

Spangler has no prior criminal record and no history of any administrative or disciplinary actions against his license, which was first issued in 1985, according to California Department of Consumer Affairs records.

Merced County spokesman Mike North confirmed that records show from April of 1998 to July of 1999 he worked for the county as a mental health program director at the Marie Green Psychiatric Center in Merced.

This story was originally published October 29, 2014 at 10:56 PM with the headline "Merced social worker charged with child molestation."