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James Weems Jr. Trial: Man Testifies He Watched Porn, But Denies Sexually Abusing Child

James Weems Jr. Trial: Man Testifies He Watched Porn, But Denies Sexually Abusing Child

On the witness stand, James Weems Jr. thought. think about his life before he was a criminal suspect.

His third wife, Shanteari, ran a successful business in Owings Mills: Lil Kidz Kastle Daycare Center. Meanwhile, he volunteered as a van driver and worked in executive protection, providing security for celebrities, royalty and wealthy individuals.

Weems said he and his wife traveled four to five times a year. They shopped. And they dined in nice restaurants.

“Life was good,” Weems testified Thursday at the Baltimore County Courts Building. “It was fine.”

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No one, he said, had ever accused him of inappropriate contact with a child. But that changed on July 18, 2022, when Baltimore County police seized his cell phone as part of a sexual assault investigation.

Witnesses to his process In Baltimore County Circuit Court on charges of sexual abuse of a minor, rape and displaying obscene material to a child, Weems acknowledged watching pornography on his phone in the van while waiting to pick up children from several elementary schools to fetch. But he said he had taken precautions – and he denied allegations that he sexually assaulted a 10-year-old girl.

“No,” Weems responded to questions from his lead attorney, Thomas Pavlinic, about whether he forced the girl to perform oral sex in the van or at the daycare center. “Not at all.”

James Weems Jr. admitted viewing pornography on his mobile phone while waiting to pick up children in a daycare van, but denied sexually abusing a 10-year-old girl. (Jerry Jackson/The Baltimore Banner)

Weems, 59, of Towson, told the jury he served in the Marine Corps, the Maryland Army National Guard and the Baltimore Police Department. He medically retired from the force after a car accident while on duty, but stayed on as a contractor until 2008.

When his youngest son was between 9 months and 1 year old, Weems testified, he took him to the Lil Kidz Kastle Daycare Center. That’s how he met Shanteari, the woman who would become his third wife, and they married in 2017.

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Before they were in a relationship, Weems testified, he didn’t watch porn. But he said he started watching it every day.

“Miss Weems needed pornography to, I think, have sex,” he testified. “It became a bit addictive.”

So when he was waiting in the afternoon to pick up students from, among other things Lyons Mill, Deer Park and Woodholme primary schools, Weems said, he would look up porn to pass the time. But he said he took precautions, including leaning forward in the driver’s seat and placing his phone away from them.

If the children saw a plane, Weems testified, he would pull up FlightAware on his phone and give it to them. They especially liked Southwest Airlines because of the color scheme.

He disputed that he paid special attention to the girl and denied sexually abusing her in the van and at daycare. Now 12, she testified against him earlier in the lawsuit.

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Under cross-examination, State’s Attorney Lisa Dever told Weems, “Let’s talk about your porn addiction.”

Weems testified that he did not use his work laptop to watch pornography.

When Dever asked Weems if he mostly watched porn on his cell phone while in a van with kids, he replied, “Probably.”

“So your addiction was when you were with children?” Dever asked.

“No,” Weems replied.

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Circuit Judge Michael J. Finifter will instruct the jury on the law on Friday, after which both sides will make their closing arguments.

Weems later acknowledged that it was possible the girl had leaned over his shoulder and seen the sexually explicit material. He also suggested that the children could have put videos on his phone without his knowledge.

“They can hide it,” Weems testified. “Children sometimes hide things.”

After police confiscated his phone, he went to the dry cleaners, picked up his laptop from daycare and went to work.

His wife, he said, was confused.

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“We talked,” he testified. “But she was still angry.”

However, the jury did not hear about what unfolded just a few days later.

Shanteari Weems drove from Baltimore County to Washington, DC on July 21, 2022, confronted her husband in his hotel room at what was then called the Mandarin Oriental and shot him twice.

Them later pleaded guilty in DC Superior Court for aggravated assault and carrying a pistol without a permit and it was convicted up to four years in prison – plus two years of supervised release. She will be released on December 17, 2025. This was reported by the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

Near the end of his testimony, James Weems reiterated that he does not deny watching porn in the van.

But in retrospect, he testified, that behavior was not appropriate.