Man shot by wife after she accused him of child abuse is charged with 33 counts of rape and sex crimes

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A retired police officer whose wife shot him at a luxurious Washington DC hotel has been charged with sexually abusing children at her day care.

Retired police officer James Weems hit the headlines in July 2022 when he was attacked by Shanteari Weems in a room at the Mandarin Oriental hotel.

She is currently serving a four-year prison sentence for shooting her husband after she confronted him with allegations she had received from parents at the day care facility.

Authorities say that Mr Weems was working at the day care as a bus driver when the incident took place.

Prosecutors have now charged the 57-year-old with 33 counts of rape and child sex crimes, according to WUSA9.

Police began investigating Mr Weems in July 2022 when a 10-year-old girl at the day care accused him of showing her pornographic images on his phone.

During a court appearance on Tuesday, he was placed on “Level 3 Home Detention” as he awaits trial.

The judge in the case ordered him to have no contact with any children, alleged victims or witnesses in the case.

The suspect retired from the Baltimore Police Department in 2005 and is a Marine Corps veteran. His trial is scheduled to begin on 6 May 2024.

Shanteari Weems, 50, received a sentence twice as long as prosecutors had asked for when she was sentenced for the shooting as Judge Michael O’Keefe told her that the attack was premeditated, not spontaneous.

“The situation was kind of like a fire,” Weems later told WUSA9. “He was fuel. I was fuel ... We poured fuel on that fire. We just got to arguing, fussing, and one thing led to another.”

“I feel I let my family down,” she said. “I feel like I let those kids’ families down. I feel like I just trusted the wrong person.”