An Atlantic City man accused of sexually assaulting a girl in his care for about three years was ordered held in jail this week pending trial.
James Callaway, who was living with the girl’s mother, is accused of raping the girl beginning when she was about 10 or 11, and then using violence and threats to continue the assaults and keep the girl from telling.
Callaway, 43, was arrested July 7, even though the girl’s mother first reported the assaults to Atlantic City police Sept. 25, 2018, just 45 minutes after learning of them herself, according to the affidavits obtained by BreakingAC.
The assaults began in 2015 or 2016 when the now-16-year-old girl and her mother were living with the man the girl referred to as her stepfather. The girl’s mother also has a younger child with Callaway.
The assaults continued until July 2018, the girl told investigators.
She revealed the assaults to her mother that September. The mother moved out of state with her children for their safety.
The assaults began with Callaway holding her down and using his fingers to penetrate her vaginally. He eventually raped her, also abusing her anally and orally, according to the affidavit that details the alleged assaults.
If she would refuse, Callaway “would punch her side and/or thigh with a closed fist, while repeatedly threatening to harm her and her family,” the complaint states.
The victim “stated several times that Callaway would sometimes strangle her around the neck and tell her that if she told anyone, he would killer her and her mom.”
Sometimes, she said, this would cause her neck pain, but she never had any visible bruises.
In January, Callaway tested positive for two types of herpes, which he allegedly gave to the girl.
Callaway previously served 20 years for aggravated manslaughter related to a 1992 homicide when he was 18, records show.
He was given a 30-year sentence with 15 years minimum under the plea agreement. He was released Aug. 10, 2013.
At a detention hearing this week, Callaway’s defense attorney argued for his release, noting his strong family ties to the area.
He also said Callaway is ill, with a mass on his chest and that he has lost 50 pounds in the last four months.
But Superior Court Judge Bernard DeLury was not swayed, saying Callaway “is a clear danger to the victim and her family.”
“Threatening the child and family shows not only his dangerousness but that he is likely to intimidate these witnesses going forward,” the judge said, noting that Callaway had previous charges of hindering and tampering with evidence.
He will remain in the Atlantic County Justice Facility as the case goes forward.
