an inch from murder - weblog

« Six accused of attempts to exploit children | Main | wanted suspects and sex offenders »

September 20, 2005

Kane pleads guilty to molesting boy

Amid murmurs and quiet gasps emanating from a crowded courtroom Monday, Hilltown Township police officer James Kane stood silently as a prosecutor methodically recounted the numerous sexual assaults Kane admitted committing against a boy.

Kane, white-bearded and wearing a gray suit, stood shackled to other defendants as he pleaded guilty in Bucks County Court to sex assault charges that could send him to prison for more than a century. He will be sentenced in about 90 days, after he is evaluated to determine whether he is a sexually violent predator under the state's version of Megan's Law.

''He betrayed the trust of the community,'' said Deputy District Attorney Michelle Henry. ''He was somebody who was supposed to enforce the law and protect the community, and in the end he broke the law.''

Kane pleaded guilty to two counts of rape and five counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, as well as individual counts of aggravated indecent assault, corruption of a minor, endangering the welfare of a child and sexual abuse of a child. When Henry added up the maximum penalties that accompany those counts, the total came to 167 years.

Even Judge John J. Rufe seemed stunned by the number of years Kane is facing.

''Mr. Kane, you've heard the charges,'' Rufe said. ''Do you agree the facts are accurate?''

''I do,'' said Kane.

''Do you plead guilty to those charges?'' Rufe asked.

''I do,'' said Kane.

Kane, 55, was arrested in April after the boy's mother turned over a letter to police that she received from the victim, now a college student, revealing the alleged abuse. Kane was arrested after county detectives interviewed the victim and wiretapped a phone call between the boy and Kane in which the officer admitted to the abuse. Henry said Kane also confessed to county detectives after his arrest.

Kane, of 1893 Clearview Road in Hilltown, has been held on $1 million bail since his arrest.

Henry said the assaults occurred from 1997, when the boy was 11, and continued through 2004. Henry said some of the assaults occurred when Kane was in uniform and on duty.

As Henry graphically described the assaults, courtroom spectators and defendants waiting to make their own pleas gasped and shuddered. One man who was shackled to Kane crossed himself.

Kane made an ''open'' guilty plea, meaning he was offered no plea bargain by admitting his guilt. Henry said Kane's decision to plead guilty means the victim won't have to testify during a trial.

''Obviously, this has been difficult for the victim and it's a relief he won't have to testify,'' she said.

In 2004, Kane was injured severely in the line of duty in Telford when he was struck by a car driven by a drunk driver. The accident initially left Kane in a coma.

He woke after 10 days, and over the course of several months was able to regain his ability to speak and overcome other neurological injuries. He had been on medical leave from the police department when he was arrested. Last winter, a community fund drive raised $4,500 for the Kane family.

Kane joined the township police in 1986. Previously, he worked as a police officer in Souderton and West Conshohocken in Montgomery County.

Hilltown Police Chief Chris Engelhart said Kane was placed on unpaid leave following his arrest. In the meantime, Engelhart said, Kane submitted his resignation, although the township supervisors have not officially accepted the resignation.

''I'm sure they'll be acting rather quickly now,'' the chief said.

If Kane is found to be a sexually violent predator and if he ever wins parole from prison, he would be required under Megan's law to register his address with state police for the rest of his life.

Posted by Nealus at September 20, 2005 10:20 AM

Comments

Post a comment