Trial delayed for ex-Warminster cop accused of child sexual abuse after his attorney quits
A former Warminster D.A.R.E. officer accused of sexually abusing boys will be getting a new defense attorney after his previous one withdrew, claiming he has not been paid in months.
In a brief hearing Monday, Bucks County Judge Wallace Bateman approved requests from attorney Michael Applebaum to be removed as attorney for James C. Carey and appoint a conflict attorney to represent the 53-year-old defendant.
The decision means there will be a months-long delay in his trial on more than 100 counts of child sexual abuse involving at least five boys as well as charges of official oppression. The new trial date has been scheduled for June.
The Cape May Court House, New Jersey, resident was arrested last April following a Bucks County Detectives investigation and inquiry by a Bucks County Investigating Grand Jury. He is currently incarcerated at Bucks County jail. His trial was scheduled to start Monday.
In court documents, Applebaum said that he has represented Carey since March 30, 2021, when Carey appeared before the grand jury and when it was believed there was only one incident and one witness.
Legal fees for the grand jury appearance, arraignment, bail modification and preliminary hearings in addition to other legal work “far exceeded” the money he had been paid as of late June, Applebaum said in his withdrawal petition. No monetary figures were included in the paperwork.
More on the arrest of James Carey: Men describe alleged abuse by ex-Warminster police officer: 'I thought he was being a role model'
Exclusive Content: Warminster couldn't fire troubled cop James Carey. So it offered him a secret retirement deal
More on the secret Carey deal: Ex-Warminster cop accused of sexual abuse gets $3K a month disability pension under settlement
Carey assured Applebaum that he had the necessary funds to cover additional fees for investigators and trial and Applebaum entered his appearance as Carey’s attorney and waived his formal arraignment on the charges, according to the petition.
But Applebaum claimed that he has been paid no legal fees in nearly six months and Carey has informed him that neither he nor his family can pay either the money owed or fees necessary to “properly defend him.”
“Defendant has indicated that he does not have, nor does he anticipate having the agreed upon funds either owed to (Applebaum) for legal fees or necessary for a week or longer trial,” according to the petition.
This news organization was not immediately successful in reaching Applebaum for comment Monday.
As of last year, Carey was receiving a $3,209 monthly pension under a 2009 separation agreement Warminster approved, which allowed him to retire with work-related disability benefits.
The Warminster township manager’s office could not be reached to determine Carey’s pension status.
Bateman agreed to order the county to assign a private conflict attorney to the case because of an existing conflict with the county’s Public Defender’s Office that would prevent its office from representing Carey.
Documentation in his child sex abuse case shows that Carey was investigated twice by Warminster and the Bucks County District Attorney’s office for allegations of inappropriate conduct with minors in 2001 and 2006, but did not have enough evidence to file criminal charges.
Carey was employed as a Warminster police officer from 1989 to 2009 and his duties included working as the D.A.R.E. officer at Log College Middle School, where he met his victims, according to court documents.
This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Ex-Warminster cop accused of child sex abuse to get new attorney
