Former Winthrop police lieutenant pleads guilty to child abuse charges

A former Winthrop police lieutenant pleaded guilty Monday to multiple child abuse charges related to the sexual abuse of a child he knew to be between 10 and 11 years old over the course of about a year and a half.

James Feeley, 57, who has been with the police department for nearly two decades, appeared in court Monday morning. He’s wearing a brown hoodie, his hands are cuffed together.

During the hearing, he told the judge that he “pleaded guilty to the very despicable actions I committed.”

After prosecutor Benjamin Hui announced the charges against Feeley, which included details of the harassment, a judge asked Feeley if the facts were true.

“Unfortunately yes,” he said, his voice steady.

Feeley was sentenced to four to six years in prison. He pleaded guilty to seven counts of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14 and a single charge of rape and abuse of a child.

He was originally charged with aggravated rape of a child, but the charge was dropped as part of the plea agreement.

Feeley was arrested Dec. 26 after Winthrop police officials said he confessed to the behavior on Christmas Eve.

That night, Feeley went to his parents’ cemetery in Winthrop with a gun and stated that he was suicidal, according to court records.

Feeley’s brother called senior Winthrop police officials to the cemetery, where they said Feeley confessed to sexually abusing the boy.

Feeley later admitted in interviews with investigators that he sexually assaulted the child “five or six times,” according to prosecutors.

Asked in January about Feeley’s employment status, Winthrop Police Chief Terence Delehanty said the department had “severed ties” with the long-serving officer.

state police oversight board it also suspended Feeley’s license to practice law enforcement pending the outcome of his case.

This report used material from previous MassLive stories.