Hopkins County Man Sentenced To 60 Years

Statement from 8th Judicial District Attorney Will Ramsay

In 2019, a CPS, or their equivalent, worker in New Jersey was investigating an entirely separate matter and knocked on the door of our victim. During the interview, our victim told the investigator of the incident when visiting her dad in Sulphur Springs a few summers prior. At the time of the offense, James Feldman lived in Sulphur Springs while his daughter lived with her mother in New Jersey. Again, 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 told 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. When completed, they sent it to Texas. Since the offense in 2016, everyone has been living in the Northeast. The defendant lived in New York, while the victim and her mother lived in New Jersey.

The defendant was indicted in June 2020 and appeared in court via Zoom due to the pandemic. The entire time no one had arrested him on the charges. Eventually, the defendant was ordered to appear in person and did not do so, blaming back injuries and surgeries.

With cooperation between the Hopkins County Sheriff’s Office and an NYPD federal task force, they captured the defendant outside his home. He was sent to Rikers Island and held there until they obtained a Governor’s Warrant for extradite 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. They located her in Florida.

At trial, the State presented testimony from the named victim from New Jersey and her mother. Also testifying was the other daughter/victim from Florida. In addition, the State brought the CPS investigator from New Jersey, the detective from New Jersey, and an NYPD officer who was integral in the defendant’s eventual arrest.

After three hours of deliberation on Wednesday, the jury found the defendant guilty. 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. After the warrant was issued, there may be three more mandatory years based on his remaining at large. That would be a decision for the parole board.