Ex-Warminster police DARE officer pleads no contest to sexually abusing 5 boys in 1990s

A former Warminster police officer is expected to be sentenced later this year after entering a no contest plea to sexually abusing five boys starting in 1989.

In a hearing Thursday, James C. Carey acknowledged that Bucks County prosecutors have enough evidence against him to prove their case to a judge or jury. His only comments during the proceedings were in answer to routine questions he was asked.

Four of his five victims and their supporters were in the courtroom to hear the plea, which is not an admission of guilt, but holds the same weight at sentencing. Carey also had supporters present.

"We love you," said one woman as Carey was led away after the hearing. "You are very loved."

Carey entered an open plea, meaning there is no negotiated sentencing deal in place. He faces the possibility of 94 to 185 years in prison, according to prosecutors.

He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 5-10 years based on guidelines for two of the charges against him. Bucks County Judge Wallace Bateman Jr. deferred sentencing for 30 to 45 days.

Carey must undergo a mandatory evaluation by the state sexual offender board to determine if he is a sexually violent predator, which carries greater restrictions under Megan’s Law. The evaluation will take place after he is sentenced.

County detectives are still analyzing the contents of Carey's cellphone, which was confiscated in 2020, First Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Schorn said. Earlier this month, Schorn revealed detectives cracked the password protected device, which could result in additional charges.

Carey, 54, of Cape May Courthouse, New Jersey, was scheduled for trial Monday on more than 100 counts of child sexual abuse in a case that went before a Bucks County investigating grand jury last year, which recommended charging him. Instead of putting the case before a jury, he pled Thursday.

Carey pled no contest to 20 counts, including charges of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with someone under the age of 16, statutory rape, corruption of minors, statutory sexual assault, aggravated indecent assault without consent, and indecent assault without consent. The crimes took place mostly between 1991 and 1999.

Earlier this month, the district attorney’s office dropped misdemeanor counts of official oppression and unlawful contact with a minor against Carey, citing an expired statute of limitations.

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Four of the five victims are expected to offer victim impact statements at sentencing, Schorn said. The fifth victim lives in Japan, but he also is expected to submit a statement.

“These men are some of the most courageous people I have ever met,” Schorn said after the hearing.

Carey’s attorney Sara Webster declined comment after the hearing.

Carey has been incarcerated since his April 2021 arrest.

Court documents allege that Carey sexually abused children in his care from 1987 until 2000. He worked briefly for North Wales and Warwick police departments before landing in Warminster in 1989.

His duties in Warminster included working as the D.A.R.E. officer at Log College Middle School, where he met and befriended his alleged victims, many who had difficult home situations and involvement with law enforcement, according to court documents.

Carey also took part in other community activities, including those hosted by the Warminster Fire Department, Warminster Recreation Center and the Boy Scouts of America, where he had contact with victims, prosecutors alleged.

Authorities contend that Carey used his position as a police officer to develop a close relationship with his victims, and gain their trust in order to take advantage of them sexually, Schorn said.

Carey threatened his victims, who engaged in smoking pot and underage drinking, with arrest, and he warned them that no one would believe them, Schorn said. The men were also afraid that others would find out about the abuse.

His victims, who are now in their 30s and 40s, previously testified that some of the sexual abuse occurred while Carey was on duty and wearing his police uniform. At least two men claimed they were sexually assaulted in Carey's police cruiser.

Warminster and the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office investigated Carey for allegations of inappropriate conduct with minors in 2001 and 2006, but did not have enough evidence to file criminal charges.

The investigation was reopened in 2020 after one of his victims reported the previous abuse to Warminster police.  The now 40-year-old man told authorities Carey sexually abused him a half dozen times starting when he was in eighth grade in 1997.

Schorn also praised the Bucks County detectives assigned to the case for tracking down four additional victims.

While two victims knew each other at the time Carey abused them, none of the five were aware that Carey had abused the others until they were called to testify at his preliminary hearing last year, Schorn said.

Warminster supervisors fired Carey in 2005 after an internal investigation found his conduct at the scene of a domestic call months earlier had violated “multiple” department policies. He was ordered rehired in 2006 after filing a grievance with the police union and binding arbitration found in his favor, but it does not appear he resumed working as an officer.

The supervisors quietly fired Carey a second time in 2007 after losing an appeal to overturn the arbitrator’s decision, and township supervisors approved his retirement in 2009.

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This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Ex-Warminster cop James Carey pleads to sex abuse of 5 boys