Pedophile sentenced to seven years in prison

54-year-old admits difficulty controlling sexual impulses, would likely reoffend

Pedophile John Murray Bell was on probation, convicted three times in the past for sexual assault, when he began abusing a 13-yearold boy.

“This is a pattern,” said Ontario court Justice Sharman Bondy, sentencing the Windsor man Monday to seven years in prison. “I’m putting the gauntlet down. It has to stop.”

Bell, 54, pleaded guilty to sexual assault, luring and invitation to sexual touching for incidents over a five-year period that included oral sex and anal intercourse. He admitted he has a hard time controlling his sexual impulses and does not contest his therapist’s opinion that he poses a high risk to reoffend.

Bell was arrested in August after the victim’s mother discovered sexually explicit messages her son exchanged with Bell. Bell’s abuse of the teen would have likely continued had it not been for the mother’s intervention, court heard, because Bell had convinced the boy they were in love.

“He became a willing participant,” Bondy said, reviewing the case in her decision. “Mr. Bell encouraged the relationship with (the victim) and initiated the sexual activity he craved.”

Court heard Bell had an unstable upbringing with alcoholic parents. He was sexually assaulted as a child and has what was described in court as having “an explosive temper.” He has two prior convictions for assault, and one for arson.

Most concerning, Bondy said, was Bell’s prior convictions for sexual assault. “He was in treatment for sexual offending at the time of these offences,” Bondy said.

Bell was careful to meet the boy when the boy’s mother was not home. Bondy said his crimes showed “planning and subterfuge.”

Bondy has been in jail since his arrest. He was given the customary enhanced credit for time served, so his seven-year sentence was reduced to an additional five years and 289 days.

He will have to register with police as a sex offender, keeping them updated for the rest of his life about such things as his address, his appearance and the make and model of car he drives.

He can’t ever own or possess weapons and, for the next 25 years, can’t attend any public park, swimming area, school, community centre or any other place where children could be found. He can’t work with children or contact anyone under the age of 16. He also can’t have any accounts on social media.

While the prospect of rehabilitation is “futile,” Bondy said, she is recommending Bell serve his sentence in a federal institution with specialized treatment programs for sex offenders.