Jurors deliberate fate of retired officer accused of molesting children at Baltimore County daycare
BALTIMORE -- A Baltimore County jury convicted James Weems Junior, a retired Baltimore City police officer, for molesting children at his wife's daycare center on Friday evening.
After more than four hours, there was no verdict, and Judge Michael Finifter asked the jury to keep deliberating past 6:30 Friday evening.
The judge held a private bench conference that lasted nearly an hour but did not state anything on the record. It was in response to a note from the jury around 5 p.m.
However, shortly after 7:30, Weems was convicted on all counts and taken into custody. He faces two life sentences.
Prosecution Closing Arguments
In her closing argument earlier in the day, prosecutor Lisa Dever said, "I ask you to think about the small, slow, progressive steps this defendant took in order to put [the victim] into his web. [This victim] was the perfect choice."
Dever also said, "The question this whole trial begs is why are you going to show pornography to a child? Why are you watching pornography on a van with kids?"
Weems faced charges of raping, sexually abusing, and showing pornography to a 10-year-old girl who attended his wife's daycare in Owings Mills, Lil Kidz Kastle before it shut down more than two years ago.
She took the witness stand, clutching her teddy bear, and spoke about a sexual assault and Mr. James showing her pornography on the daycare van he regularly drove.
Defense Closing Arguments
The defendant admits to looking at pornography on the van with the kids inside but testified he never intentionally showed it to any children.
His lawyer told the jury, "If you're accused…I don't know what you can do but get on the witness stand and deny it."
Of the child at the center of the accusations he said, "I have empathy. I think she's a victim in this case, not of Mr. Weems, but of the system that put her through this."
He also questioned the thoroughness of the police investigation.
Key Testimony
Weems' then-wife Shanteari testified during the trial about being "overwhelmed" after learning about the accusations. She said her former husband remained unusually calm.
She owned the daycare and shot him in a confrontation inside a Washington, D.C. hotel about the charges.
Jurors were not allowed to hear about that shooting.
Shanteari was sentenced to four years in prison and has since divorced James and changed her name to Shanteari Young.
"Ms. Weems did something that she felt was worth it to protect those children and she's been held accountable," her lawyer Tony Garcia said. "Now, it's his turn."
The Charges
Mr. Weems has been found guilty of the following charges:
•Second-degree rape (daycare van)
•Sexual abuse of a minor (daycare van)
•Second-degree rape (inside daycare)
•Sexual abuse of a minor (inside daycare)
•Displaying obscene matter to a minor (pornography in van)
•Sexual abuse of a minor (pornography in van)
