Former Warminster Township police officer James Carey was charged recently with sexually assaulting a fifth teenage boy while working as a DA.R.E. officer more than two decades ago.
Carey, 52, of Cape May Court House, N.J., was arrested on April 7, following a lengthy investigation by Bucks County Detectives and an inquiry by a Bucks County Investigating Grand Jury that found Carey sexually assaulted four boys between 1989 and 2009.
Days after a news conference to announce Carey’s arrest, Bucks County detectives interviewed a fifth person who said he was victimized by Carey. The victim, identified in court records as MW13, said he was 13 when he was sexually assaulted by Carey.
He said he was with friends at the time and smoking marijuana outside the Warminster Recreation Center when Carey stopped them because of the marijuana smell. During a pat down search, Carey fondled the boy. Carey continued the search and found marijuana, which he confiscated. He told the boy they would discuss the matter at a later time.
The next week, Carey gave the boy a ride home in his patrol car and told him he could have had him arrested, taken out of school, and sent to the detention center for possessing marijuana, according to a criminal complaint. Carey said the arrest could follow him his entire life, but offered to work something out instead, the complaint continues.
The boy said he was terrified Carey could destroy his life. Carey continued driving the boy home and parked in the driveway of the boy’s home. There, he performed oral sex on the boy, according to the complaint.
Charges of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, statutory sexual assault, indecent assault, endangering the welfare of a child, unlawful contact with a minor, corruption of minors and official oppression were filed May 26. Carey was arraigned on the new charges June 1, before District Judge Daniel J. Finello Jr. in Warminster.
Carey, who is currently in Bucks County Correctional Facility on $250,000 cash bail, is already facing 122 total counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, statutory sexual assault, aggravated indecent assault, indecent assault, unlawful contact with a minor, corruption of minors and official oppression for the sexual assaults of four boys.
Carey was a police officer for Warminster Township from 1989 to 2009, and previously and briefly worked for the North Wales Police Department in Montgomery County (June 1988 to August 1988) and the Warwick Township Police Department (July 1988 to May 1989).
An 80-page presentment details testimony from victims, parents and numerous other witnesses that alleges Carey used his position as a uniformed officer assigned to work as a D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) Officer at the Centennial School District to “gain unique access to children under color of authority and law.”
“Carey ingratiated himself into the lives of minor children, in particular, those who were already facing challenges in their lives,” according to the presentment. “He used his position and authority to groom, not only the children, but their adult caregivers.
“The grooming tactics he used were pervasive, manipulative and calculated such that he not only lowered the minor’s guard but also attempted to provide an assurance that his crimes would go unreported and if reported, not believed.”
In announcing the arrest on April 7, District Attorney Matt Weintraub described Carey as “a veritable wolf in sheep’s clothing, walking among us.”
The Bucks County District Attorney’s Office strongly believes there are more victims in this case and asks anyone with information to contact Bucks County Detectives at 215-340-8216 or 215-348-6504.
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