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Winthrop police lieutenant charged with child rape
The Winthrop Police Department has placed Lt. James Feeley on administrative leave pending the outcome of the criminal investigation.
A Winthrop police lieutenant was in court Wednesday to face charges of aggravated child rape and two counts of indecent assault and battery on a child under the age of 14.
Lt. James Feeley, 56, pleaded not guilty to all charges and was held on $200,000 cash bail following his arraignment in the East Boston division of Boston Municipal Court.
Feeley was arrested Tuesday night following an investigation by Massachusetts State Police detectives, the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office said in a news release. According to prosecutor Benjamin Hui, the alleged assaults took place over the past year.
According to a report filed in court, Winthrop Police Chief Terence Delehanty told investigators that he received a call on Christmas night that Feeley was in Belle Isle Cemetery in Winthrop and “was in a bad way.”
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Off-duty at the time, Delehanty left home and headed to the cemetery, where he saw Feeley surrounded by several family members near his parents’ gravesite, according to the court document. At that point, an “apologetic” Feeley allegedly confessed to sexually assaulting a child.
Delehanty reportedly believed Feeley, who was armed with a handgun, was suicidal. According to the report, Feeley turned the weapon over to Delehanty and was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital for psychiatric evaluation.
The alleged victim was seen at Boston Children’s Hospital, investigators noted.
In a statement, Suffolk DA Kevin Hayden emphasized that his office has staff specially trained to work with child victims of sexual assault.
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“We have a far better understanding of the care and approach to child victims of violence and sexual assault than in the past, and this victim and the victim’s family will receive all the help and support they need as this case moves forward,” Hayden said.
Feeley is due back in court on Jan. 29 for a probable cause hearing. If he does post bail, he will be barred from having any contact with children under the age of 16 and will need to surrender his passport and submit to GPS monitoring, among other conditions.
Reached by phone Wednesday afternoon, an attorney appointed to represent Feeley during his arraignment declined to comment.
Per his LinkedIn page, Feeley has been with the Winthrop Police Department since 2002.
“James Feeley has been placed on administrative leave from the Winthrop Police Department pending the outcome of a criminal investigation headed by State Police Detectives assigned to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office,” Delehanty said in a statement Wednesday morning.
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