April 11, 2023 – Last week in 8th Judicial District Court, the case State of Texas vs. James Michael Feldman was tried. Feldman was indicted for Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child.
How The Case Started
In 2019, a CPS (or their equivalent) worker in New Jersey was investigating a completely separate matter and knocked on the door of the victim. During the interview, the victim told the investigator of the incident that had happened when she was visiting her dad in Sulphur Springs a few summers prior. At the time of the offense, James Feldman was living in Sulphur Springs while his daughter lived with her mother in New Jersey. Again, the act of sexual abuse occurred during a summer visitation between the father and daughter in Sulphur Springs. We believe the year to have been 2016.
After hearing the outcry, the CPS investigator was able to get word to the Sulphur Springs Police Department regarding the outcry of sexual abuse. SSPD requested law enforcement in Ocean County, NJ to perform a courtesy forensic interview of the child. This was completed and sent to Texas.
Since the time of the offense in 2016, everyone was living in the Northeast. The defendant was living in New York while the victim and her mother continued to live in New Jersey.
The Defendant was indicted in June of 2020 and appeared for court via zoom due to the pandemic. The entire time he had not been arrested on the charges. Eventually, the Defendant was ordered to appear in person and did not do so blaming back injuries and surgeries.
At this point, with cooperation between the Hopkins County Sheriff’s Office and a NYPD/federal task force, the Defendant was finally captured outside of his home. He was sent to Rikers Island and held there until a Governor’s Warrant could be obtained so that he could be extradited to Hopkins County. He officially arrived in Hopkins County in August of 2022.
During the investigation, the District Attorney’s Office was made aware of another biological daughter who was a victim of Feldman’s sexual abuse years ago. She was located in Florida.
At trial, the State presented testimony from the named victim from New Jersey as well as her mother. Also testifying was the other daughter/victim from Florida. The State brought the CPS investigator from New Jersey, the detective from New Jersey and a NYPD officer who was integral in the Defendant’s eventual arrest.
A Decision Rendered
After around 3 hours of deliberation on Wednesday, the jury found the Defendant guilty as charged. The Defendant had elected for the Court to set punishment in the event of a conviction. After hearing evidence and arguments, the Court sentenced the Defendant to 60 years in prison. Due to the classification of the offense, the Defendant would not be eligible for parole until he serves at least half of that time (or 30 years). (There may be 3 more mandatory years based on his remaining at large after the warrant was issued. That would be a decision for the parole board.)
“I am very proud of these young ladies for having the courage to travel very long distances and testify in front of the man who committed these acts. They spoke truth to this Hopkins County jury and justice was achieved. I appreciate the strong punishment verdict from the Judge. Just one more statement that Hopkins County will not tolerate the abuse of our most vulnerable.” Will Ramsay
8th Judicial District Attorney
Click here to read a story on KSSTRadio.com about Feldman’s arrest. Ohio And New York Men Jailed On Aggravated Sexual Assault Of A Child Warrants
