'You're doing this for attention': Son of hero cop arrested for 'molesting' boys scorned by family for going to police

The son of a hero former NYPD officer accused of molesting three boys has told how he faced the scorn of his family for reporting his father to authorities.

Shane Fox, 32, tipped Pennsylvania authorities off to his father, William Fox, 65, in 2008 after he allegedly walked in on the retired officer abusing a 16-year-old adopted son.

But instead of support from the Fox family, Shane has told how he faced scorn and anger from siblings.

Speaking to the New York Daily News, Shane Fox said: 'I told my wife and we called the cops from there.

Unknown to Shane, another his Fox's alleged victims, 43-year-old Frank Spinelli, had also alerted Staten Island authorities that the ex-cop molested him when he was a Boy Scout in the late 1970s.

Following the allegations, Fox was arrested on March 21 and charged with 21 counts including charges of rape and involuntary deviate sexual intercourse.

Shane told the paper he face a barrage of insults from his brothers after coming forward.

Speaking about their adoptive father, one brother told him: 'Do you think he deserves this.

'You're only doing this for attention.'

According to Shane, Fox adopted 10 children in three states, including some with mental disabilities.

Shane said he lived with five foster families before the hero cop adopted him in Florida in 1994.

He said: 'Being a retired cop, I never thought he was like this.

'I found out the first night - that's when he started touching me.'

In spite of the alleged assaults, Shane told the paper how Fox would shower him with gifts and frequently take him on trips.

He added: 'Everything I wanted, I got.

'Everybody made him out to be a hero. But when you live with the guy, it's a totally different story.'

Bachelor William Fox became a nationwide celebrity in the 1980's after adopting a 17-year-old runaway he talked down from a suicide bid on a New York rooftop.

Fox and his new son Michael Buchanan later penned a novel 'The Cop and The Kid' about the heart-warming tale.

The NYPD cop became a national icon after he talked Buchanan down from a sixth floor Bowery Street ledge in 1981 - later adopting the boy.

In May 1982 Fox was named as one of 10 'fathers of the year' by the National Father's Day Committee.

The story became a national sensation with a round of TV appearances and magazine interviews following publication of the book.

Fox's arrest came after a two year probe was launched on the back of a 'concerned individual' coming forward from the Staten island area.

Police allege Fox abused the victims in his Liberty home, situated near the New York state line in north-central Pennsylvania.

Fox had to retire after 11 years in the police when a drunk driver crashed into his parked patrol car.

Over the course of his carer, Fox had been responsible for three fire rescues and was twice hurt while trying to stop separate burglaries in progress.

Shane described how, after moving his wife and children back in with Fox in 2008, he he couldn't stand to see Fox abuse the young boys.

Shane Fox - who has a 1-year-old daughter and a 4-year-old stepson - said coming forward will be worth it when the suspected molester is behind bars for good.

'It will be justice in my eyes,' he said.

'I don't want my kids to go through what I went through.'