Attorney accused of soliciting sex from jail inmates surrenders himself in Hillsborough

TAMPA — Attorney Andrew B. Spark, who faces criminal charges in two counties related to sexual misconduct with county jail inmates, turned himself in to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office on Friday.

Spark, 55, is charged with introducing contraband into a jail and soliciting prostitution. A warrant for his arrest in Hillsborough County was issued Thursday.

He arrived at the Orient Road Jail in Tampa about 8:15 p.m., officials there said, just five days after he was taken into custody in Pinellas County on similar charges. He was accused in Pinellas of engaging in sexual acts with inmates and also recruiting inmates to take part in a pornographic film titled Girls in Jail. Spark was released from Pinellas County jail last week after posting $5,300 bail.

According to the Hillsborough warrant, Spark visited a female inmate at the Falkenburg Road Jail on Oct. 13 pretending to be her attorney. The two entered a private room without surveillance reserved for attorneys to confer in secret with their clients. There, investigators said, the two engaged in sexual activity.

Spark took photographs of the encounter, which Pinellas investigators found while conducting their own investigation into Spark's conduct at their jail. The revelations from the Pinellas investigation caused Hillsborough officials to review contact Spark had with inmates in their jail.

Hillsborough investigators listened to a five-minute recorded call from Oct. 12 between Spark and the inmate, during which they discussed when they would be least likely to get caught. They also agreed on a price: $10 into the inmate's commissary account. Spark deposited the money into her account that day.

Officials did not release the identity of the inmate.

Spark's visit to the Falkenburg jail was confirmed through jail records, the warrant said. Investigators researched the inmate's cases and found Spark never represented her.

Spark was released Saturday from Hillsborough County jail after posting $2,500 bail.

Investigators in Pinellas said Spark visited two women in that jail for the purposes of engaging in sexual relations.

Spark visited the first woman, who is 28 years old and detained on drug charges, at least six times between June and December, investigators said. Spark would stand in front of the door, blocking the only small window into the room, while she performed a sex act.

On Dec. 17, investigators learned Spark was returning to the Pinellas County jail to engage in sex acts with a 25-year-old woman. They wired the attorney-client room for sound and listened. When Spark exposed himself, investigators burst in and arrested him.

Spark served as an assistant attorney general in Florida from 2004-11. More recently, he worked for SparkLaw in Tampa.

Spark is also being investigated by the Florida Bar, which said he had no prior disciplinary history since being admitted in 1991.

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Contact Josh Solomon at (813) 909-4613 or jsolomon@tampabay.com. Follow @ByJoshSolomon.