HIV-Positive Davie Man Accused Of Having Sex With Children
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FT LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) - A Davie man who tested positive for HIV is accused of sex with children.
William Bell, 55, was arrested Wednesday night and charged with several counts of lewd and lascivious acts with a minor, child pornography and using/allowing a child to engage in a sex act.
According to police, Bell had sex with a 14-year-old girl at his trailer in Davie on a number of occasions over the last three months. When the girl's mother found out she called the police.
In talking the teen, investigators learned that he allegedly showed her a picture of a boy's penis on his cell phone.
Police set up a call between the teen and Bell. During it, she asked why he had sex with her.
"You wanted it too. Don't lie," he said, according to his arrest report.
When she pressed him further he reportedly said, "It just happened" and "I don't know."
On Thursday, when police went to arrest Bell he reportedly refused to get out of his truck by bracing himself inside the vehicle and refusing to let go of the steering wheel.
Officers were finally able to get him out of the truck and placed him into custody.
During questioning, Bell reportedly admitted to fondling the girl, having sex with her and taking nude photos of her.
"We seized his phone and found multiple images of child pornography including himself having sex with young children," said Davie police Sgt. Mark Leone. "This animal victimized a 14-year-old girl he was having sex with over a couple of months and two other young boys."
The pictures were located in an app called KeepSafe which is a known photo vault.
"Mr. Bell has admitted to having unprotected sex with these children and being HIV positive. Right now these children are going to go through tests to make sure they are not infected," said Leone.
The arrest affidavit shows that during a recorded phone conversation, the defendant blamed the girl.
That's something mental health counselor Veronica Ruiz-Ashwal says is one of the biggest reasons why kids won't seek help; fear of blame.
"This is not their fault," she said. "This is a person that is sick."
She says parents should look out for specific signs.
"Lack of eating, isolation in their room, a little bit more sadness, changes in grades, those are things parents should be a little bit more aware of," Ruiz-Ashwal said.
Police believe there may be more victims out there.
"We believe there are other victims out there and if you have had any contact with this individual please speak to your kids. We would like them to come forward," said Leone.
Leone told CBS4's Peter D'Oench, "Take a good look at the individual in this photo. If you know this man or your kids know this man, please speak to them."
At a court appearance on Thursday Bond for Bell was set at $350,000. If he gets out of jail, he'll be on house arrest and have to wear a gps monitor.
