DOYLESTOWN, Pa. – Calling the bail set during his preliminary arraignment “woefully inadequate,” Bucks County President Judge Wallace H. Bateman Jr. increased the bail of former Warminster Township police officer James Carey charged with sexually abusing four teenage boys to $250,000 cash bail April 20.
According to a release, Carey, 52, of Court House, encountered the boys while working as a D.A.R.E. officer more than two decades ago. Following a lengthy investigation by Bucks County Detectives and an inquiry by a Bucks County investigating grand jury, Carey was charged April 7 with 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.
His bail was set at $100,000 (10%) April 7, which he posted hours after his arrest.
At a bail modification hearing April 20, Bucks County First Assistant District Attorney Jennifer M. Schorn argued that Carey poses a danger to the community if he remains free. She also argued that he should be considered a flight risk who still had his credentials as a retired police officer, which allowed him to legally carry a firearm throughout the country.
Bucks County Detective Greg Beidler testified that since an April 7 news conference to announce Carey’s arrest, Bucks County detectives received several leads and calls from other potential victims. Detectives are currently following up on those leads, as part of the ongoing investigation.
As part of the new bail conditions, Bateman also ordered Carey to surrender his passport and police credentials and have no contact with minors.
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, District Attorney Matt Weintraub described Carey as “a veritable wolf in sheep’s clothing, walking among us.”
“A police officer’s creed is to protect and serve his community,” Weintraub stated. “In a perverse and criminal dereliction of his duty, James Carey instead took advantage of his power and credibility while on the job, as a police officer, to sexually abuse our community’s most vulnerable: our children.”
The Bucks County District Attorney’s Office strongly believes there are more victims in this case and ask anyone with information to contact Bucks County Detectives, at 215-340-8216 or 215-348-6504. The case was investigated by Bucks County Detectives and will be prosecuted by First Assistant District Attorney Jennifer M. Schorn and Assistant District Attorney Brittney Kern.
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