Mar 21 - Man Pleads Guilty To Numerous Sexual Assault And Child Rape Charges
A 47-year-old man pleaded guilty to various sexual offences, including the rape of a child under the age of 13, and three counts of possession of indecent images of children, at the Supreme Court this morning.
James George Bell, of Boyd House, Laguna Estate, faced 25 counts in total, but pleaded his innocence for charges relating to sexual offences allegedly carried out against another child under the age of 13.
Bell pleaded guilty to 12 charges involving “Y” relating to incidents which took place between April 2009 and April 2015 and which included rape, sexual assault, and causing or encouraging or assisting a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity.
He also pleaded guilty to three separate counts of possession of indecent images of children found in July last year, including one count of the possession of 331 category C images, one count of possession of one category A image (the most serious) and one count of taking 146 indecent photos of a child in June 2015.
Bell denied 10 separate counts of sexual assault, rape and causing a child to engage in sexual activity involving “X”.
Puisne Judge Karen Ramagge Prescott requested a pre-sentence report, and Bell will next appear at the Supreme Court on Friday 22nd April.
Ms Justice Ramagge Prescott ordered for the 10 counts to which Bell pleaded not guilty to remain on file.
Bell is represented by Francis Borastero-Porter.
(‘X’ and ‘Y’ are used to hide the real identities of the alleged victims)
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