WASHINGTON (WJLA) — Carlos Deangelo Bell, the HIV-positive former Maryland coach arrested for child pornography and sexual abuse in 2017, has been sentenced Tuesday to 105 years in prison by a US District Court judge on federal charges.
In January, Bell pleaded guilty to 27 counts on charges relating to child sexual abuse involving dozens of victims, according to Charles County officials.
ABC7's Kevin Lewis reported that Bell faced the possibility of being sentenced to up to 190 years in prison. After a plea agreement, 42 victims would be spared from having to testify in court in the case.
Bell assaulted 24 students and was previously indicted on 119 counts dating back between May 2015 and June 2017. He was arrested in June 2017.
He also faced 12 counts of child sexual abuse, according to Maryland State's Attorney Tony Covington. Officials said the indictment of Bell also included three counts of transmitting or attempting to transmit the HIV virus.
Bell, 30, worked as an instructional assistant at Benjamin Stoddert Middle School in Waldorf, Maryland and as a track coach at La Plata High School. Investigators said he also worked at JP Ryon Elementary in Waldorf, Maryland and McDonough High School in Pomfret, Maryland. He was arrested and charged for production of child porn and three counts of second-degree assault.
The Charles Co. Sheriff's Office said at the time that as many as 10 middle school students were assaulted, seven were identified from videos, and that they were actively searching for more victims.
On Oct. 23, 2017, Bell was indicted on 206 counts and 10 federal charges including child pornography. A 206-count indictment covered 28 identified alleged victims and 14 unidentified alleged victims, according to the State's Attorney's Office for Charles County, Maryland.
According to court documents, Bell did "knowingly employ, use, persuade, induce, and entice children to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing a visual description of such conduct."
The family of one of the victims in the Bell sex abuse scandal formally filed a $1 million lawsuit on Nov. 10, 2017. The boy's mother, who wasn't identified, said she wanted compensation, but more importantly change in policy based on what was called "abuse and neglect" in the school system.
An indictment for Bell included previous allegations in two other indictments from June 30 and July 28 of 2017, and charges for additional alleged victims discovered during a police investigation.
Officials said victims in the case were between 11 and 17 years old.