Police: Pastor Charged with Sexual Abuse Has HIV, Stephanie Segretto, WLKY, January 5, 2009

Police: Pastor Charged with Sexual Abuse Has HIV

By Stephanie Segretto
WLKY
January 5, 2009

http://www.wlky.com/news/18415136/detail.html

SHELBYVILLE, Ky. -- More information about the arrest of a Shelbyville pastor charged with sexual abuse has become public, including his HIV status.

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James Howard Bell, 47, is in custody in Shelby County, facing charges of sexual abuse, sodomy and wanton endangerment.

Video:Police: Pastor Charged With Sexual Abuse Has HIV

State police said the case against Bell began when he turned himself in.

According to an arrest citation obtained by WLKY, Bell went to police and confessed to several sexual encounters with a 15-year-old.

"He apparently probably had thought at some point in time someone was going to come to us before he did," said Kentucky State Trooper Ronald Turley.

Bell's neighbors are baffled by the allegations.

"It's hard to believe that he done something like that, being a minister and all that, you know," said William Simons.

Besides sexual abuse and sodomy, Bell is also facing a wanton endangerment charge. Police would not release the details of the case, but according to court documents, Bell confessed that he "knowingly withheld the fact that he is HIV positive from the juvenile and did not use protection during these encounters."

For those who knew Bell, they said it's hard to imagine he would be facing charges for anything, especially this.

"I still don't believe it," Simons said.

Bell's church, the Refuge Temple Church of God in Christ, has issued no comment on the case, and Bell denied our request for an interview.

As the case moves forward, neighbors said they will have several people on their minds -- Bell's wife and his three children.

"I feel sorry for his family," Simons said. "I can feel what they are going through."

Previous Stories:

* January 2, 2009: Shelbyville Pastor Jailed On Sex Abuse Charges