US couple faces death penalty in Uganda – media

Nicholas and Mackenzie Spencer allegedly tortured and trafficked a foster child who lived with them in the East African nation. A Ugandan court on Wednesday charged an American couple with aggravated child trafficking, an offense carrying the death penalty, Reuters reports. The two were detained earlier this month and accused of torturing the child, who they fostered in their home in Kampala.

According to court documents seen by the news agency, Nicholas Spencer and Mackenzie Leigh Mathias Spencer recruited, transported, and kept the child through “abuse of position of vulnerability for purposes of exploitation.” Kampala Metropolitan Police Spokesman Patrick Onyango told the Associated Press that the couple used the boy to solicit money from donors.