CAPE MAY, N.J. (1010 WINS) — A former Pennsylvania police officer living in South Jersey was sentenced to 24-and-a-half to 55 years in prison on Tuesday for sexually abusing at least five boys over the course of two decades, according to the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office.
James Carey, 54, sexually assaulted five boys between 1989 and 2009 while working at the Warminster Township Police Department. Most of the abuse happened while Carey was in uniform, according to victim testimony.
One victim was 13 when Carey assaulted him. The District Attorney’s office did not specify the ages of the other victims.
Carey put himself in positions of power over children by working as a DA.R.E. officer and running a program for troubled youth at the Warminster’s recreation center.
“He ingratiated himself into the lives of his victims, this is how he identified the most vulnerable among them, this is how he got away with perpetrating unimaginable sexual crimes upon children,” said Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Schorn. “It doesn’t get much worse. When someone in a position of trust does what he did, it shakes the community to its core.”
All five victims gave impact statements during the sentencing.
“I spent my whole adult life hating myself,” said one. “This has impacted every aspect of my life, physically, mentally, financially and emotionally.”
Another said Carey’s abuse set him on a downward spiral that led to substance abuse, incarceration and suicide attempts.
Judge Wallace Bateman said Carey used his “badge and uniform as weapons of his depravity.” He also denounced the behavior of Carey’s fellow officers, who failed to protect children from their colleague.
“When a young man goes into the police department to make a report I would expect a more professional response,” he said.
Carey was arrested April 7, 2021. In October, Carey pleaded guilty to five counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, five counts of corruption of minors, seven counts of indecent assault, two counts of statutory rape, two counts of statutory sexual assault and one count of aggravated indecent assault.
In addition to the decades-long sentence, Carey will have to register as a sexually violent predator.
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