A man who sexually abused a 10-year-old girl at his wife’s day care in Owings Mills in a case that led her to shoot him was sentenced on Monday to life in prison.

Baltimore County Circuit Judge Michael J. Finifter handed down that punishment for James Weems Jr., 59, of Towson, on charges of sexual abuse of a minor, rape and displaying obscene matter to a child. He drove the van for Lil Kidz Kastle Daycare Center and picked up and dropped off students at several elementary schools.

Weems faced a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison without the possibility of parole. He’s also accused of sexually abusing three other children.

The girl wrote in a victim impact statement that Weems made her feel uncomfortable, confused and hurt. She’s now 13.

“I wish Mr. James did not do those bad things to me,” she wrote. “I wish I could stop thinking about them. I just want to be a regular kid again.”

Thomas Pavlinic, Weems’ lead attorney, could not immediately be reached for comment.

The allegations came to light on July 2, 2022, after the girl’s loved ones caught her using an iPad to watch pornography.

When family members questioned her about how she knew about the website, the girl replied, “Mr. James.”

Weems, she disclosed, showed her sexually explicit material on his cellphone and molested her in the van and at the day care.

The FBI analyzed and mapped data from his phone, which revealed that he searched for porn and pulled up adult websites when he was near elementary schools.

Weems admitted that he watched porn on his phone while in the van. But he testified that he took precautions to shield the children from the videos.

He joined the Baltimore Police Department in 1996 and medically retired in 2005. But until 2008, Weems stayed on as a contractor.

His wife at the time, Shanteari Weems, drove on July 21, 2022, from Baltimore County to Washington, D.C., to confront him about the allegations at what was then called the Mandarin Oriental. She shot him two times.

Baltimore County Police filed charges against him days after the shooting.

Later, Shanteari Weems later pleaded guilty in D.C. Superior Court to aggravated assault and carrying a pistol without a license and was sentenced to four years in prison and two years of supervised release.

She divorced him and testified at his trial. According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, she’s set to be released on Dec. 17.

Shanteari Weems also wrote a victim impact statement.

“The anguish of learning what happened to her during my watch has taken a profound mental and emotional toll on me,” she said.

She said her ex-husband betrayed her trust.

The scars of his actions will linger, she said, and nothing can erase the pain and suffering.