It’s no longer a world where abusers and villains look the part. Now, these people hide in plain sight. Sometimes, they even roam among us, doing respectable jobs and gaining the sympathy of society.
One such case came forward that involved a former police chief.
A retired police Chief in Baltimore has been convicted of sexually abusing children. The accused had access to his wife’s daycare, where he got in touch with his victims. The court has awarded him a life sentence for his crimes.
James Stanley Weems Jr. received a life sentence on April 14th 2025. It was reported by PEOPLE, who examined Baltimore County Circuit Court online records.
According to internet records, Weems was convicted in November 2024. He was accused and convicted of three charges of sexual assault. This included sexually assaulting a minor, two counts of second-degree sexual assault, and one crime of exhibiting pornographic materials to a minor. This sentencing follows the conviction.
The initial investigation began with the accusation against Retired Police Chief Weems involving a single victim. A minor aged 10 years at the time of the incident, according to WUSA.
According to the outlet, Weems was accused of assaulting four children at the Lil Kidz Kastle Daycare Center in Owings Mills, Maryland, in 2022.
Daycare owner, Shanteari Weems, was sentenced to 4 yrs in prison for shooting her husband (who had been working security at her daycare) when she found out he had been molesting the children in her care.
Shanteari is a hero.
Send bad vibes to Pedophile Officer James Weems. pic.twitter.com/JzWy7g5acK
— dara faye (@darafaye) February 8, 2023
The daycare was run by the Police chief’s ex-wife, Shanteari Weems. After finding out about the accusations, she shot him. Later, Mrs Weems was arrested. She then entered a guilty plea to aggravated assault and carrying a firearm without a license. After the case, Shanteari was sentenced to four years in jail and two years of supervised release, according to the Baltimore Banner. During the trial and evidence gathering, Shanteari filed for divorce.
Weems retired from the Baltimore police force in 2005. He then spent two years driving buses at the daycare, as PEOPLE previously reported. This gave him access to kids and their schedules. Utilizing his position as the driver, he slowly gained their trust, too.
WUSA, Baltimore Banner, and CBS News have reported on the case. According to these outlets, the accusations against him surfaced in July 2022. It was when his victim was caught viewing pornography. When asked, she said that Weems had previously shown it to her. The victim was 13 years old at this time.
A retired Baltimore police officer was sentenced to life in prison for sexually abusing children at his former wife’s daycare, court records show
His ex-wife had been sentenced to prison for shooting Weems after learning about the allegations https://t.co/P4YQSOcNKd
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) April 15, 2025
The case was then handed over to the FBI. The FBI found that he mapped data from his phone to view sexual websites close to elementary schools.
The victim had told WMAR that the only person who was kind to her and would provide her with snacks was Weems. Weems instructed her to keep the incident a secret.
Shanteari also gave a statement against Weems during his trial. She stated in court that the girl was “delayed for her age and mostly kept to herself and her sister. According to WUSA, she also claimed that Weems reportedly discussed her and called her his “little buddy” and “my little helper.”
Weems, however, has denied having inappropriate ties with any of the kids, according to the news outlets.
“I wish Mr. James had not mistreated me in that way. I wish I could put them out of my mind. The girl stated in a victim impact statement, “I just want to be a regular kid again.”
According to WUSA, Weems is still facing more than 20 more counts connected to the other alleged victims.
Visit www.childhelp.org or contact the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453 if you believe a child has been abused. Every call is private and toll-free. The hotline is available in over 170 languages around the clock.
