Ex-police lieutenant arraigned in assault

Charged with child sex abuse

A Winthrop police lieutenant charged in December with sexually abusing a child was arraigned Thursday on five additional counts of indecently assaulting a minor, officials said.

James Anthony Feeley, 56, of Winthrop, pleaded not guilty in suffolk superior Court to seven counts of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14 and one count of aggravated rape, according to legal filings.

feeley was previously arraigned on two indecent assault and battery charges and a sole count of aggravated rape of a child, according to court records. His indictment earlier this month included the new counts and moved the case to superior Court.

A lawyer for Feeley didn’t immediately return a request for comment.

In December, Feeley was ordered held on $200,000 bail and was placed on paid administrative leave at the time by the Winthrop Police Department. A spokesperson said Thursday that feeley is “no longer a member” of the department.

Feeley allegedly assaulted the child multiple times between August 2022 and December 2023, when the child was 10 and 11, prosecutors said in a statement of facts accompanying the charges. “These assaults occurred at the defendant’s home where he resided with his wife and family,” prosecutors said.

Feeley had served as a foster parent, officials have said.

“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,” suffolk District Attorney Kevin R. Hayden said in a statement. “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.”

Prosecutors said the child disclosed the abuse to an unspecified adult on Christmas Day.

“The defendant’s wife learned of the abuse and confronted the defendant, at which time he did not deny the abuse,” prosecutors said.

He was arrested the next day and allegedly admitted his crimes to investigators, prosecutors said.

“After receiving his Miranda warnings, the defendant admitted in a recorded interview that he sexually assaulted the child on five or six occasions,” prosecutors wrote.

A state Police affidavit filed previously said that on Christmas night, Winthrop Police Chief Terence M. Delehanty received a phone call from his brother, a sergeant in the same department, telling him feeley was in the Belle Isle Cemetery “in a bad way” and asking to speak to the Chief directly.

Chief Delehanty, who was off duty, went to the cemetery to meet Feeley, whom he has known for more than 50 years, according to the affidavit. Delehanty arrived to find his brother, Feeley, and members of Feeley’s family.

When Delehanty asked feeley what was happening, Feeley allegedly confessed to sexually assaulting the child.

“He could not explain why he had done this,” the affidavit said.

Feeley was apologetic to the Chief and the Chief ’s brother, and when Delehanty asked why he was in the cemetery near his parents’ graves, feeley asked, “What do you think?” according to the affidavit.

Feeley was allegedly carrying a gun, and Delehanty believed he was suicidal. He persuaded feeley to hand over the gun and Feeley was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital for a psychiatric evaluation, according to the affidavit.

Feeley’s next court date is slated for June 5.