Nearly 4 years following alleged inappropriate sexual contact with a child, a Westland man is facing second degree criminal sexual conduct charges. Charges against Paul Wheeler Sposite, 57, were filed last month in connection with incidents that allegedly occurred at the Wayne Knights of Columbus building in 2018. He was arraigned on sexual misconduct charges on April 26 and released on a $25,000 bond. A report of inappropriate contact between Sposite and a young boy was initially filed with the Wayne Police Department in 2018, but no charges were filed at that time. The boy’s father and stepmother reported the incident telling detectives that the family visited the Moose Lodge on Michigan Avenue in Wayne on Sept. 8, 2018 where Sposite was a high-ranking official in the lodge. The child’s father told officers that women at the lodge noticed Sposite’s contact with the child and believed it was inappropriate, according to police reports. One of the women recorded the incident on her phone. The boy’s stepmother was informed by one of the witnesses and asked Sposite to stop touching the child, according to reports of the initial incident. Sposite left the club following that confrontation, police reports said One of the women who saw the incident alerted the child’s mother who subsequently found numerous Facebook messages from Sposite to the child. During police interviews, Sposite explained that he had never been alone with the child and denied ever touching him inappropriately. During a November 2018 interview, Sposite told detectives that he had been accused of misconduct previously but the incident had been resolved with his receiving professional counseling. There was no further action reported regarding the allegations or interview. The boy’s father, however, returned to the Wayne Police Department in 2022, claiming that the child had provided more information about the 2018 incident, including a graphic description of Sposite fondling him. He also told his parents and police that there had been a previous incident of inappropriate touching by Sposite. The investigation was reopened and detectives sent findings to the office of the Wayne County Prosecutor in May of 2022. Sposite was arrested April 26, nearly two years later. As part of his bond conditions imposed by the court during his arraignment, he is required to wear a GPS tether and is prohibited from contacting the victim or any minor children and cannot return to the Wayne Moose Lodge or Wayne Knights of Columbus building.
