Ex-D.A.R.E. Officer Pleads No Contest to Sexually Assaulting 5 Teen Boys

A former Bucks County police and D.A.R.E. officer who worked with troubled youth pleaded no contest to sexually abusing five teenage boys.

James Carey, 54, of Cape May Court House, New Jersey, appeared in court Thursday morning and entered the open plea to five counts each of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, indecent assault, and corruption of minors and two counts each of statutory rape and statutory sexual assault and one count of aggravated indecent assault. 

Carey’s sentencing was deferred for 30 to 45 days. The judge also ordered Carey undergo an evaluation by the Sex Offender Registration and Notification board. 

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Carey was arrested on April 7, 2021, following an investigation by Bucks County detectives and an inquiry by a Bucks County Investigating Grand Jury. 

Investigators determined Carey sexually assaulted four boys between 1989 and 2009 while he worked as a D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) officer for Log College Middle School in the Centennial School District and ran a program for troubled youth at a recreation center in Warminster Township, Pennsylvania. 

Bucks County District Attorney Matt Weintraub described Carey as a “veritable wolf in sheep’s clothing, walking among us.” 

A month after Carey’s arrest, a fifth victim came forward, accusing Carey of sexually assaulting him when he was 13. 

During a preliminary hearing in June 2021, the victims, who are now in their 30s and 40s, talked about being repeatedly abused by Carey. The victims said most of the assaults occurred while Carey was in uniform. 

Investigators said Carey used his position as a uniformed D.A.R.E. officer to take advantage of young victims who were already facing challenges in their lives. He interacted with some of his victims at the school, other locations in the township and in the hot tub at his home.

Drug Abuse Resistance Education, a.k.a. D.A.R.E. "envisions a world in which students everywhere are empowered to respect others and choose to lead lives free from violence, substance use, and other dangerous behaviors," according to the national program's website. D.A.R.E. programs aimed at preventing drug usage and youth violence are set up for students of all ages in schools.

Despite his role in D.A.R.E., investigators found that Carey allowed children to drink, smoke and do drugs in his presence.

In addition to working with D.A.R.E., Carey was a Warminster Township Police officer from 1989 to 2009. He also was involved in the Boy Scouts, worked with the Warminster Police Teen Activity Corps and ran the township fire department's Fire Explorers program, Weintraub said.

Prior to leaving the police department, Carey was demoted from his rank of sergeant and fired in 2005, but then got his job back in 2006 at a demoted rank, according to the district attorney's office. That demotion was unrelated to the sex abuse allegations. He would remain with the Warminster police department but not do any police work until he reached a retirement settlement in 2009.

Carey carried the credentials of a retired police officer, which allowed him to carry a gun legally.

Carey was also the focus of both a 2001 investigation in Bucks County and 2006 New Jersey State Police investigation at a campground that resulted in no criminal charges, court documents said. Each investigation focused on inappropriate contact with minors.

The DA in 2001 was unable to bring criminal charges but did express concerns at the time about Carey's role as a police officer and the safety of the community.

Carey, who was most recently a resident of Cape May County, New Jersey, has also worked as a security guard and bus driver in Cape May County since his retirement from the police force, but was unemployed at the time of his arrest.

Through the investigation into Carey, investigators connected him to Charles “Chuck” Goodenough through the Warminster Fire Department's Explorers program and Boy Scouts, the DA's office said.

"There is sufficient evidence to support the fact that both Carey and Goodenough exploited their positions of authority to victimize minors in their care,” the DA's office said.

Goodenough died by suicide last year after detectives searched his home days earlier.

Carey, who is not married, also briefly worked for the North Wales and Warwick Township police departments in the late 1980s.

 “I am relieved for the survivors of the defendant’s abuse that he spared them the further turmoil having to testify against him would have caused each of them," Weintraub said. "Nevertheless, he must be made to pay a severe price for his extraordinary violation of trust. He abused his position of authority as a police officer to prey on the most vulnerable among us."

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 provides people in distress or those around them, with 24-hour support. The Crisis Text Line allows people to text ‘Home’ to 741-741 to connect with crisis counselors.