Massachusetts police lieutenant charged with child rape due for change of plea hearing
WINTHROP – Former Winthrop Police Lieutenant James Feeley, who is charged with aggravated rape of a child, is due in court on Monday for a change of plea hearing.
James Feeley change of plea hearing
Feeley was arrested in December 2023, indicted on one count of aggravated rape of a child and seven counts of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14 years old.
During his initial arraignment, Feeley pleaded not guilty. A change of plea hearing has been scheduled for Monday morning at 11 a.m. in Suffolk Superior Court.
No additional details about the potential change of plea were released.
A judge ordered Feeley held on $200,000 following his initial arraignment, He was also ordered to wear a GPS device and turn in his guns and passport. Prosecutors had unsuccessfully requested $500,000 bail.
James Feeley charges
Though details about the allegations were not revealed following his arrest, prosecutors said that Feeley confessed to Winthrop Police Chief Terrance Delahanty in a cemetery on Monday, Christmas Day.
According to police, Delahanty believed Feeley was "in a bad way," armed and suicidal. Feeley was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital and underwent a psychiatric evaluation before facing charges.
The alleged victim in the case was treated at the hospital, telling police that Feeley assaulted them for about a year.
Feeley was a veteran police officer who had been with the department for over 20 years. Sources told the WBZ-TV I-Team that Feeley was also a church leader and former business owner in Winthrop.