Mugshot Carlos Bell.
Carlos Bell, a high school track coach who is HIV positive, is accused of having sex with multiple middle school boys.
Some of the children may have been exposed to HIV. Bell, 30, was also a teacher’s aide at Benjamin Stoddert Middle School in St. Charles County Maryland.
Since his arrest was announced on July 3, he’s been removed from those positions. Bell’s full name is Carlos Deangelo Bell. He is from Waldorf, Maryland.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. The Sheriff Says Children May Have Been Exposed to HIV
Charles Co Sheriffs say if children had Carlos Bell as their Track coach or class aide, they may have been exposed to HIV. @ABC7News
Bell admitted to authorities that he was HIV positive, according to WUSA9.
So far, authorities don’t know of any boys who contracted the virus from Bell. However, victims are being offered testing, the television station reported.
Authorities were able to verify that Bell does, in fact, have the virus that causes AIDs, according to the TV station. Tests on two of the children came back negative, but it can take up to six months for the virus to appear, reported WTOP.
2. Bell Is Accused of Videotaping Himself Having Sex With Children, Including in a Classroom
Fox5’s Paul Wagner reported on Twitter, “Sheriff says Carlos Bell videotaped himself having sex with middle school children in classroom.” According to NBC 4, “One of the videos appears to show Bell having sex with a child inside a classroom at Benjamin Stoddert Middle School in Waldorf.”
Bell is now accused of three counts of producing child porn and two counts of 2nd degree assault. According to WUSA9, authorities allegedly found evidence of child porn production when they searched Bell’s home computer.
3. Bell Abused Multiple Boys in Different Locations, Police Say
Prince Georges County
Authorities allege that Bell sexually abused multiple boys at multiple locations.
Wagner reported, “Charles County Sheriff says Carlos Bell is HIV positive & had unprotected sex inside a classroom with middle school boys. 2 tested negative.”
Bell is accused of molesting as many as seven boys, and there may be three additional victims, according to WTOP.
The victims range in age from 6th grade to 8th grade students, authorities say. The victims were boys, “mostly middle schoolers and pre-adolescent students,” according to the Charles County sheriff.
4. Bell Previously Worked at Other Local Schools & Was Caught Because of an Alleged Text
Compounding concerns: Bell has a history of working in other local schools in Maryland.
In addition to being a teacher’s aide at the middle school, Bell was the “head indoor track coach at LaPlata High School, and previously worked as an aide at J.P. Ryon Elementary School. He was hired in 2014,” reported WTOP.
NBC 4 reported that some of the children Bell worked with had special needs. An inappropriate text message to a student who was not one of Bell’s accusers spurred authorities to start investigating Bell and led to the alleged discovery of the videos, authorities say.
5. Bell Passed School Background Checks
La Plata High School.
Bell did not have a past criminal history. This allowed him to find employment in schools.
“Carlos Bell has been with the Charles County School System since 2014. The Superintendent says he passed all background checks,” reported Tracee Wilkins of NBC 5.