American son of noted Boston, MA family, accused and convicted of assault and battery. Spalding’s father is the President of the Wang Center Theater and very much involved in Boston’s arts and humanities efforts. His grandfather was a politician and had been head of the state Republican Party, and was the founder of Spaulding Rehabilitation Center, a noted rehab hospital in Boston,
On November 22, 2002, young Josiah was allegedly part of a group of nine white people who taunted black teenagers in a subway station concourse. When one of the white females in Spaulding’s group got into fisticuffs with a black teen, Spaulding allegedly hit the teen in the head with a baton and then struck another girl twice. Both teens were taken to area hospitals, treated and released. Young Spaulding then went on a trip, reportedly pre-arranged, to the Netherlands. However, that trip seemed to be a flight from justice, and, on February 28, 2003, following extensive negotiations between police and his family, Spaulding returned to Boston and turned himself in with charges of assault lodged against him. His attorney claimed that his client has suffered from obsessive-compulsive disorder since he was about 15 and that the attack was not racially motivated. Spaulding’s parents said through a spokesperson, “We love our son very much, although sadly, he has been estranged from our family for several years. Given Jas’s [sic] history of emotional problems, we hope that he can now receive the help he needs.”
At the end of his trial, on July 17, 2006, Spaulding was convicted of two counts of assault and battery and ordered to undergo a 40-day psychiatric evaluation at Bridgewater State Hospital. Charges that the assault was racially motivated were rejected. Sentencing is scheduled for August 25, 2006, and he faces a maximum of 20 years.