Back in 2016, James George Bell, the Gibraltar Paedophile, a “sexual predator” who systematically raped and sexually molested a young child for six years, threatening physical violence if she disclosed the abuse, was sentenced to 18 years in prison.
James George Bell, 48, commenced his “campaign of rape and egregious sexual abuse” against the child when she was nine years old, as presented to the Supreme Court.
James George Bell, a security guard, admitted guilt to 12 representative charges of rape and sexual assault, pertaining to his actions from April 2009 to July 2015, when the incidents were ultimately reported to law enforcement, leading to his arrest.
James George Bell also admitted guilt to possessing 331 indecent images of minors, capturing indecent photographs of the victim, and possessing one ‘Category A’ image, categorising it at the highest level of classification for such images.
During the sentence hearing yesterday, prosecutor Robert Fischel, QC, detailed each incident sequentially and characterised the nature of the abuse.
Mr Fischel informed the court that it is impossible to quantify the number of instances of rape and sexual assault, but he noted that such acts occurred with alarming regularity over the six-year duration.
This prompted an interjection from Chief Justice Anthony Dudley, who emphasised the pre-sentencing report in which James George Bell informed probation officers that he was uncertain about the frequency of his assaults on the girl, stating it may have occurred ‘once a month or once a week.’
Mr Justice Dudley stated that, based on James George Bell’s more conservative estimate of ‘once a month,’ the girl would have experienced rape or sexual assault 80 times during the six-year duration. Had it occurred weekly, the figure would approximate 300.
“I am not surprised… “It is an exceedingly tragic situation,” Mr Fischel responded.
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