Former Police Lieutenant Arraigned on Eight Charges

Former Winthrop Police Lt. James Feeley was arraigned in Suffolk Superior Court last week on one count of aggravated rape of a child and seven counts of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14.

Clerk Magistrate Edward Curley retained Feeley’s existing bail of $200,000 with conditions of stay away-no contact with the victim and family; no unsupervised contact with children under 16; GPS prior to release with exclusion zone; surrender of his passport; surrender all firearms; and he muse stay in Massachusetts.

Feeley, 56,  is scheduled to return to court June 5 for a pretrial conference.

 “As this troubling case moves through the court process, we will provide the victim and the victim’s family with all the support, guidance and assistance they need and deserve,” said Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden. “Our prosecutors and victim witness advocates are acutely aware of the challenges victims and families face in such cases and are well-equipped to help from start to finish.”

The indictment against Feeley alleges that on various dates between August 2022 and December 2023, the defendant sexually assaulted a child, who was between ten and eleven years-old at the time

of the assaults. These assaults occurred at the defendant’s home where he resided with his wife and family in Winthrop.

According to the statement of the case as presented by Assistant District Attorney Audrey Mark, the child first disclosed the abuse to an adult on Christmas day last year. The defendant’s wife learned of the abuse and confronted the defendant, at which time he did not deny the abuse, according to the indictment

After that, Feeley went to a cemetery; he was armed with a handgun and made statements which indicated that he was suicidal. The defendant’s brother called Winthrop Police Chief Terence Delehanty and a Winthrop Police sergeant to meet Feeley at the cemetery. At that time, Feeley confessed to the chief and sergeant that he had sexually assaulted the alleged victim, according to the indictment.

The defendant was arrested by the Massachusetts State Police on Dec. 26, 2023.

After receiving his Miranda warnings, the defendant admitted in a recorded interview that he sexually assaulted the child on five or six occasions, according to the district attorney’s office.