Elderly man sentenced to 119 years for sexual crimes against daughter

By Linda Cicoira

Roy Kellam James, a 77-year-old Exmore father, was sentenced Monday in Northampton Circuit Court to more than 119 years in prison for sex crimes he first admitted and then denied committing against his daughter decades ago when she was a child.

Judge W. Revell Lewis III suspended 85 years of the 99-year term for incest, and 13 years and two months of the 20-year sentence for rape, leaving James with 21 years and 10 months to serve. He would have to live past his 98th birthday in order to eligible for release under those terms. 

However, Commonwealth’s Attorney Beverly Leatherbury explained that because the offenses occurred between 1978 and 1982, the defendant would be eligible for parole. Due to his age, James could be considered for geriatric parole after he serves at least five years of his sentences.Five other charges were not prosecuted in exchange for his pleas of guilty. Testimony at the trial revealed he abused his only biological child every chance he got from the time she was four years old until she was 15. Those in authority, who could have helped her back then, either ignored what was going on, refused to do anything about it, or condemned her.Leatherbury said, “This case demonstrates how extremely important it is to to seek justice for survivors of sexual abuse, especially vulnerable children, and how it is never too late.”

Ordinarily, the identity of a victim of a sex crime would not be disclosed in a news story. In the case of incest, the identification would be obvious by the mention of the crime. The victim, in this case, gave permission for her identity to be disclosed so the full extent of the crimes would be known.

The victim took the witness stand to tell about the impact of the crimes. She thanked Chief Angelo DiMartino of Exmore, who in 2020 went to the victim as part of a much more recent investigation involving allegations against James. She also thanked Leatherbury, her victim advocate, the judge, and other family members for their support and understanding.

“The definition of the characteristics of a dad includes being a strong leader,” the victim testified in comments directed at James. “One of a father’s responsibilities is to nourish his children and encourage them.  You undoubtedly, without question failed on all accounts … I want you to get a sense of the helplessness that I felt … every time you touched me and violated every inch of my four-year-old body through the age of 15. … You took my sense of self and my security as a child and shattered me into a million pieces. Something as simple as taking a bath during visitations, became just another routine that was made to be dirty because of your actions during bath time. I have been left over the last 44 years to do my best just to survive … You would complain about having to pay insurance bills for medical issues such as UTIs (and) bladder infections … that were being caused by you and you violating me.” 

Without the abuse, she wondered, “Would I have had the self confidence to go to college? Would I have tried out for the cheerleading team verses coming back from the weekend visitation wondering if I was pregnant because of your actions?”

The victim said he caused her to have Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Last August, a month after the trial, she lost her job due to the stress of the ordeal. “For 28 years I have always had employment and health insurance and currently that is not the case,” she added.

The victim was fondled at age four, the prosecutor told the court. She was raped and sodomized from age 9 to 15.  Back then, the victim told her pastor and the headmaster of her school of the crimes, but her claims were disregarded.

James said he was innocent, despite admitting guilt verbally and in writing at his trial. At the sentencing, James said hewas “confused” when he entered the pleas.

Just after his arrest, he told Lt. Michelle Hallett of the Northampton County Sheriff’s Office that his daughter refused to see him in 1990, when she was 15. He never asked why or tried to learn what the problem was and claimed the allegations came from his vindictive ex-wife, the victim’s mother. 

Judge Lewis said he knew James was guilty because no father would ignore his only child for decades after a sudden and unexplained rejection when she was a teenager.