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A 2-year-old living in the home of a former Massachusetts police lieutenant who was arrested last month on child rape charges was found unresponsive on Thursday in the jailed former officer’s Winthrop home and died after being rushed to the hospital, according to authorities.
The initial investigation “indicates no signs of foul play or physical trauma,” a spokesperson for Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden said in a statement. “We are awaiting an autopsy to determine cause of death.”
No further information has been released.
Lt. James Anthony Feeley has been detained since late December after being arrested and charged with aggravated statutory rape of a child and two counts of indecent assault and battery of a child under 14. He has pleaded not guilty. Feeley’s attorneys did not respond to a request for comment on Friday evening.
Feeley, 56, was a foster parent, the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families said. According to a criminal complaint filed in East Boston Municipal Court and obtained by The Boston Globe, Feeley admitted to the crimes on Christmas night, while standing by his parents’ gravesites. Feeley called Winthrop Police Chief Terence Delehanty’s brother, who is a sergeant on the force, and said he needed to talk to Delehanty, who Feeley has reportedly known for more than 50 years.
Delehanty’s brother told him that Feeley “was really in a bad way,” according to the complaint, which was obtained by various local news outlets. When Delehanty arrived, and asked Feeley what he was doing in the cemetery, he responded, “What do you think?” the complaint states.
After Feeley handed his gun over, he was admitted to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston for a psychiatric evaluation. The victim in the case told investigators that the alleged abuse had been going on for about a year. It is unclear if the child was being fostered by Feeley.
Feeley, a 20-year veteran, was promoted to lieutenant in January 2020. He is being held on $200,000 bail. His next court appearance is scheduled for Jan. 29.
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