Ex-Cop's Sexual Assault Trial Set To Begin In Bucks County Court

WARMINSTER, PA —The trial of former Warminster Police Officer James Carey on over 100 sexual assault charges is set to begin Oct. 31.

Manuel Gamiz Jr., director of communications for the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office, confirmed the date to Patch Friday morning. Bucks County Court of Common Pleas Judge Wallace Bateman Jr. will preside.

Carey, 54, of Cape May Court House, N.J., is accused of sexually assaulting five teenage boys more than two decades ago. He committed the acts, prosecutors said, while working as a DA.R.E. officer and running a program for troubled youth at the township’s recreation center.

During a preliminary hearing in June 2021, seven witnesses testified, including four of the victims and two Bucks County detectives.

Carey —police officer for Warminster Township from 1989 to 2009—was arrested in April 2021 following a lengthy investigation by Bucks County Detectives and an inquiry by a Bucks County Investigating Grand Jury that found Carey sexually assaulted four boys between 1989 and 2009.

That May, he was charged with the sexual assault of a fifth victim.

Prosecutors presented their case showing how Carey used his position as a uniformed officer assigned to the D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) program to take advantage of victims who were already facing challenges in their lives.

The victims, now in their 30s and 40s, testified about the repeated abuse by Carey.

Most of the assaults happened while Carey was in uniform, the victims testified. One of the victims testified he was court-ordered to perform community service, and Carey took on the role of supervising his community service hours, which led to Carey sexually assaulting him several times.

Carey would then sign off on his community service paperwork, he testified. Many of the victims testified the horrors they endured as teens led to troubled lives as adults.

“When you are that young and something like that happens, the self-value of yourself isn’t very high,” one victim testified. “It destroyed my life.”

Carey faces 136 total counts of Involuntary Deviate Sexual Intercourse, Statutory Sexual Assault, Aggravated Indecent Assault, Indecent Assault, Unlawful Contact with a Minor, Corruption of Minors, Endangering the Welfare of a Child, and Official Oppression.

Before Warminster Township, Carey had 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).