Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier is proposing a new law named in honor of a Tallahassee girl whose stepfather allegedly murdered her while he was out on bond after his conviction of a child sex crime.
Uthmeier announced the proposed “Missy’s Law,” named after Melissa “Missy” Mogle, in a June 24 post on X, saying the legislation is designed to “prevent judges from abusing their discretion.”
Missy died May 19 after she was found unconscious at her house in Southwood and rushed to the hospital with signs of horrific abuse. Her stepfather, Daniel Spencer, and mother, Chloe Spencer, were arrested and later charged with murder.
At the time of Missy’s death, Daniel Spencer was out on bond following his arrest in an unrelated online child sex sting conducted last year by the Leon County Sheriff’s Office. He was convicted in April after a one-day trial before Leon Circuit Judge Tiffany Baker-Carper.
After jurors returned the guilty verdict, prosecutors asked Baker-Carper to remand him to custody. But the judge, citing the fact he had been out on bond for a year without incident, allowed him to remain free.
Uthmeier specifically called out Baker-Carper in video posted to Twitter, saying she made a “terrible decision” when she opted not to remand Spencer.
“Five-year-old Missy was murdered by her stepdad, convicted sexual offender Daniel Spencer, because Tallahassee Judge Tiffany Baker didn’t put Spencer behind bars where he belonged,” the attorney general said in his post on X, formerly Twitter.
The attorney general held up a photo of Missy in a video posted to the social media platform.
“Missy’s brutal murder highlights the need for legislative action to prevent such judicial discretion in cases involving dangerous sex offenders,” Uthmeier said. “The attorney general plans to work with the Legislature to enact ‘Missy’s Law,’ which would prohibit the release of convicted sex offenders before sentencing.”
Florida DCF Tallahassee police closed investigations into Missy’s abuse
Missy’s tragic life story has been unfolding in the pages of the Tallahassee Democrat since May 20. After Missy’s death, State Attorney Jack Campbell sharply criticized Judge Baker-Carper’s decision in an interview, saying it was important to know that there are “dangerous people” in the community.
“While it’s nice to be compassionate and merciful, when you have somebody who’s demonstrated that they are trying to have sex with children, that is violence against children, and if you don’t stop them, they’re going to continue to hurt children,” said Campbell. “And here we’ve learned it in the most horrific instance.”
Spencer was arrested in February 2024 after chatting with an undercover officer posing as a 15-year-old girl and driving to meet her at a local gas station. He was one of more than a dozen people arrested in “Operation Spring Cleaning.”
Confidential court records obtained by the Democrat show that the Florida Department of Children and Families and the Tallahassee Police Department investigated allegations that Daniel Spencer had sexually abused Missy after getting a hotline complaint in July 2024. Both agencies, however, closed their investigations.
TPD and prosecutors found insufficient probable cause to make an arrest. Campbell said the only evidence was the word of a child too young to understand the difference between truth and lies.
DCF wrote in court records that it closed its probe after Chloe Spencer agreed to let Missy live with another family member who would have no contact with Daniel Spencer.
‘Missy should not have lost her life’
In his video, Uthmeier said that while he serves as attorney general he’s “first and foremost a dad of three little ones.” He called Missy’s death “horrific.”
“Our kids are innocent,” he said. “They’re vulnerable. They need to be taken care of. They have nowhere to run, nowhere to hide when monsters like this are on the loose. But what makes this case so tragic is that it could have been prevented. Five-year-old Missy should not have lost her life.”
On April 15, after Daniel Spencer was convicted in the sex sting, Judge Baker-Carper explained in open court why she wasn’t going to remand him. She ended with a question for the prosecutor, Assistant State Attorney Jasmine Mattear.
“He has been out for an entire year as far as I saw with no violations,” Baker-Carper said. “I didn’t see any criminal history regarding violence. The only criminal history I saw was relating to drug offenses when I looked. Madam prosecutor, you’re free to enlighten the court if I’ve missed something.”
Mattear said he should be remanded because of the nature of the offense and the fact that he qualified for prison time. She did not mention the earlier sex abuse investigation. Campbell told the Democrat in a June 13 article that he didn’t know whether the prosecutor was aware of the allegation.
After Missy’s death, Baker-Carper revoked Daniel Spencer’s bond at the request of prosecutors. Both he and Chloe Spencer are being held without bond at the Leon County Detention Facility.
Contact Jeff Burlew at jburlew@tallahassee.com or 850-599-2180.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Florida Attorney General proposes ‘Missy’s Law’ after slain 5-year-old Tallahassee girl
Reporting by Jeff Burlew, Tallahassee Democrat / Tallahassee Democrat
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