Retired Baltimore police officer sentenced to life for sexual abuse at former wife's daycare

A retired Baltimore police officer was sentenced to life in prison Monday for sexually abusing children at his former wife's daycare, court records show.

In November 2024, retired officer James Weems was found guilty of rape, sexual abuse of a minor and showing obscene matter to a minor. 

According to court records, Weems' victims attended Lil Kidz Kastle, a daycare in Owings Mills that was owned by his former wife, Shanteari Young. 

Weems drove the van for the daycare.

Court records show that Weems admitted to looking at pornography while taking children to school, however, he claimed that he never intentionally showed the children or touched anyone. 

During the trial, an uncle of one of the victims testified that the victim's family found pornography on her tablet and she told them "Mr. James" first showed it to her. 

The victim was 10 at the time of the abuse. 

The initial 2022 indictment accused Weems of abusing at least three children at the daycare.  After the guilty verdict, prosecutors said they planned to learn Weems' sentence before deciding whether or not to bring other charges. 

Weems' former wife testifies 

Weems' former wife, Young also testified against him during the trial. She had been sentenced to four years in prison for shooting Weems after learning about the allegations. 

During the trial, Young was not allowed to tell the jury that she had shot Weems. 

"Ms. Weems did something that she felt was worth it to protect those children and she's been held accountable," her attorney Tony Garcia said. "Now, it's his turn."

During her testimony, Young recalled the day she learned about the allegations, saying she was overwhelmed and distressed. 

On the other hand, she said Weems was calm and did not ask any questions. 

Victim's parents seek financial compensation 

In March, the parent of the victim filed a civil lawsuit to hold Weems financially accountable.

The lawsuit alleged negligence and false imprisonment of the victim after she broke down in tears during the trial. According to the lawsuit, the victim faced nightmares and headaches following the ordeal. 

"It has been devastating—a catastrophic experience," said attorney Jonathan Schochor. "These are lifelong injuries." 

"This young lady confronted what happened in court. Whether she can emotionally confront what happened in her life remains to be seen," Schochor added.

Young was also named as a defendant in the lawsuit, which alleges that the daycare should have known Weems "was addicted to internet pornography and would habitually watch pornography every chance he had…"

The lawsuit said the daycare's management should have known Weems was not fit to be near children without supervision…"