Retired Police Chief Sentenced to Life in Prison for Sexually Abusing Children at Wife’s Daycare

A retired police chief in Baltimore was sentenced to life in prison for sexually abusing children at his wife’s daycare.

According to online records for the Baltimore County Circuit Court reviewed by PEOPLE, James Stanley Weems Jr. was sentenced to life in prison on Monday, April 14.

The sentencing comes after Weems was found guilty of three counts of sexually abusing a minor, two counts of second-degree rape and one count of displaying obscene materials to a minor in November 2024, online records show.

The charges are concerning just one of his alleged victims, who was 10 years old at the time of the abuse, WUSA reported. Weems was charged in 2022 with molesting four children at Lil Kidz Kastle Daycare Center in Owings Mills, Maryland, per the outlet.

The daycare was owned by his former wife, Shanteari Weems, who shot him after learning about the allegations.

Shanteari pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and carrying a pistol without a license and was sentenced to four years in prison and two years of supervised release after the incident, per the Baltimore Banner.

As previously reported by PEOPLE, Weems, who retired from the Baltimore police force in 2005, worked as a bus driver at the daycare for two years. 

The allegations against him came to light in July 2022 when his victim, who is now 13, was caught watching pornography and said Weems previously showed it to her, per WUSA, Baltimore Banner and CBS News.

Weems is reported to have shown her the sexually explicit material on his cellphone and molested her, the outlets reported.

The FBI discovered that he accessed adult websites near elementary schools, mapping data from his phone, per the outlets.

According to WMAR, the girl said Weems was the only person who was nice to her and would give her snacks. Weems told her not to tell anyone about what happened.

WUSA reported during the trial, Shanteari testified that the girl was “delayed for her age and mostly kept to herself and her sister,” but recalled Weems allegedly talking about her and referring to her as his “little buddy” and “my little helper.”

The outlet reported that Weems denied inappropriate relationships with any of the children, and only remembered the girl as a “nice little girl.”

“I wish Mr. James did not do those bad things to me. I wish I could stop thinking about them. I just want to be a regular kid again,” the girl wrote in a victim impact statement, per the Baltimore Banner.

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Weems still faces over 20 additional counts relating to the other alleged victims, per WUSA. PEOPLE has reached out to Weems’ representation for comment.

If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.