A Winthrop police officer charged with child rape is off the job and looking at a hefty bail following his arraignment Wednesday in a Boston court.
James Feeley, 56, of Winthrop, was arraigned in municipal court in East Boston Wednesday morning on one count of aggravated rape of a child and two counts of indecent assault and battery on a child. A not guilty plea was entered on his behalf.
Judge Joseph Griffin imposed a $200,000 cash bail in the matter. Prosecutor Benjamin Hui had argued that the severity of the charges warranted a $500,000 cash bail. Defense attorney Nitin Dalal, who was appointed only for this hearing, described that amount as “ridiculous” and that Feeley and his family are “underwater” financially. He also said his client had himself come forward and disclosed the rape.
“He has worked in the department for 20 years,” Dalal said about his client’s connection to the community. “What happened here is an aberration of immense proportions. He is not a flight risk, he knows he has to face justice for this.”
Griffin also imposed GPS monitoring should Feeley be able to post bail. The exclusion zone to keep him away from the victim is his own house.
“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,” Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden said in a statement following the arraignment.
The defense attorney for Feeley made a verbal motion at the top of the 10-minute hearing to hide his client. Feeley “doesn’t want to bring further embarrassment to his family,” attorney Dalal said.
Hui argued that there was no issue of identity in this case and it was a public proceeding so Feeley should show his face. Judge Griffin agreed.
According to a portion of the redacted criminal complaint provided by the clerk’s office following the hearing, Feeley himself disclosed that he had sexually assaulted the child multiple times. The child allegedly told police the incidents began about a year ago.
Winthrop Police Chief Terance Delehanty in an interview with a Massachusetts State Police detective on Tuesday said that he had received a call that Feeley, who is a lieutenant in the Winthrop Police Department, was “in a bad way” surrounded by family at the gravesite of his parents in Winthrop’s Belle Isle Cemetery. He allegedly had a gun on him.
Delehanty said he believed that Feeley was suicidal and that Feeley told him “wait until I tell you what I’ve done,” before disclosing that he had had sexual contact with the child. The assaults, according to the complaint, “occurred on unknown dates and times presumably in Winthrop.”
The charges state that the victim was a child less than 12 years old.
Chief Delehanty said in a statement released ahead of the hearing that 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.”
He was promoted to lieutenant in 2020 after holding the rank of sergeant for the for three years. Prior to that, he served as patrolman for six years, and reserve officer for eight years. He is also a medic for the Metro North Special Operations Unit, according to the Winthrop page.
Feeley also serves on the town’s retirement board.
– Developing