Maryland

Aide Accused of Assaulting Children Worked at Several Youth Organizations

An instructional aide who is accused of assaulting students and creating child pornography on school grounds worked not only at Charles County Public Schools but at several other youth organizations, police said Wednesday.

  • In spring 2016, Carlos Deangelo Bell, 30, volunteered as an assistant coach for a Waldorf, Maryland track club called the Comets, police said.
  • In fall 2015, he worked for a company that provided before- and after-school care at J.P. Ryon Elementary School and William B. Wade Elementary School.
  • And in fall 2008, Bell worked as a facility attendant with the Charles County Department of Community Services, police said. 
  • He also may have coached or helped coach other sports teams in the region.

Police are sharing the information because they say Bell may have other victims, and they want families to come forward if he had contact with their children.

Charles County and the FBI have set up a phone line for anyone who may have been a victim; that number is 800-CALL-FBI.

For updates from Charles County schools on the investigation, see this dedicated website.

Two meetings for parents are planned, on July 28 and Aug. 16 at 7 p.m. at Benjamin Stoddert Middle School. 

Seven of at least 10 victims have been identified, authorities said.

Bell, of Waldorf, Maryland, has told law enforcement that he is HIV positive, Charles County Sheriff Troy Berry said Monday. 

Berry added that law enforcement is not aware of any victim who has contracted HIV, but that more testing will happen.

The victims were all boys, "mostly middle schoolers and preadolescent students," Berry said. 

The victims were all boys, “mostly middle schoolers and pre-adolescent students,” police said. They added that there may be more victims. News4’s Jackie Bensen reports.

Bell was identified after a parent noticed suspicious text messages on a child's phone in December, Berry said. At that time, Bell was removed from Charles County Public Schools, said Charles County school Superintendent Kimberly Hill. Law enforcement launched an investigation.

Last week, investigators notified the Charles County Sheriff's Office that child pornography had been found on Bell's personal electronic devices, Berry said, including graphic images of Bell sexually assaulting children.

One of the videos appears to show Bell having sex with a child inside a classroom at Stoddert Middle School in Waldorf, Berry said.

"Some of the crimes appear to have been committed on school property, and others at his home in Waldorf," Berry said.

Law enforcement and schools in Charles County, Maryland, detail charges against a school aide who is accused of assaulting students and creating child pornography. Some of the assaults occurred on school grounds.

Bell was arrested Friday; the same day, a Charles County grand jury indicted him on two counts of second-degree assault and three counts of production of child pornography. He is being held without bond.

Additional charges are likely, said Tony Covington, state's attorney for Charles County.

"The facts that buttress those charges are chock-full of allegations of sexual assault," he said.

Bell had worked as an instructional assistant at Stoddert Middle School, which included working with some students with special needs. He also had worked as a track coach at La Plata High School.

He had worked for Charles County schools since fall 2014. He also had worked at J.P. Ryon Elementary School in Waldorf and had been a track coach at Maurice J. McDonough High School in Pomfret.

Bell has not worked for Charles County Public Schools since Dec. 22, 2016, Hill said.

"In an organization that is all about children, these allegations are horrifying," Hill said. "To our parents and our community, who put their faith and trust in us to safeguard their children, I apologize on behalf of Charles County Public Schools. Student safety is job one, and clearly we have work to do to make sure that this will never happen again."

The victims will get support and counseling, Hill said, and the school district will launch a "comprehensive and transparent" review of safety protocols and the curriculum around sexual harassment.

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