Serial Maryland rapist sentenced to life for three attacks

James Ellis Hackey Jr., 39, a serial rapist who victimized an 11 year old girl, a 18 year old woman, and a 40 year old woman, was sentenced to an aggregate sentence of 65 years to life in a Hagerstown, Maryland court for 3 counts of 1st degree rape.

Before other charges were dropped in exchange for the plea, Hackey was charged with 54 counts of assault, rape and other sexual offenses related to three incidents.

One of those incidents involved the kidnapping and rape of an 11-year-old girl who was taken from her bedroom at Oak Ridge Apartments.

“I don’t think I will be able to think like a kid again,” said the mother of the 11-year-old victim, reading Tuesday morning from a letter her daughter wrote. The girl wrote that she always is hiding and can’t sleep in the dark.

Hackey is “the most dangerous predator this community has seen ... in recent memory,” Assistant State’s Attorney Gina Cirincion said Tuesday.

Hackey raped the women in separate burglaries, and left DNA evidence Police got a hit after Hackey's June arrest. The 40 year old woman was raped first, and regrets not doing more to catch Hackey before he raped his two next victims.

Hackey told the psychologist that he would have killed a woman eventually had he not been taken off the street. He also said that “white women are easy prey,” and that he enjoyed watching his victims and how scared they were, the prosecutor said.

“What I did was wrong,” Hackey said before the judge sentenced him. “I’m dealing with some problems a lot of people don’t understand.”

Assistant Public Defender Jerome J. Joyce said his client had been abused as a child, and said Hackey should receive some type of treatment in prison. Joyce also reminded the judge that Hackey wanted to take a plea to spare the victims the trauma of testifying.

The Herald-Mail reported in June 2007 that Hackey was charged by the Frederick Police Department with second-, third- and fourth-degree sex offenses, several counts of burglary and battery on July 14, 1987.

Hackey served 17 years in prison for burglary. Burglary sometimes is the first step for sexual offenders, State’s Attorney Charles Strong said after Tuesday’s hearing.

Prosecutors said after the hearing that Hackey will be eligible for parole after he serves 25 years for each of the life sentences, with all but 50 suspended, and after he serves 15 or 16 years of the life sentence. In Maryland, the governor must approve the parole of any inmate serving life in prison.

Hackey must be registered as a violent sexual offender and as a child sexual offender, the judge ordered.

Washington County Circuit Judge Donald E. Beachley said Hackey was “too violent, too dangerous” to live in the community and that he showed domination over and violence toward women.