The teen says he couldn't trust men as he feared they would abuse him too. Photo / 123rf
Warning: This story contains details of sexual offending against a child and may be upsetting.
A teenager with a head injury who suffered years of sexual abuse says he’s angry and hopes the man responsible will be jailed for “a long time”.
This month, the teen and his father confronted Shane Bell in court, telling him that other young people should not have to go through what the teen had.
“I find it hard at times to express myself,” the teen told the court.
“I am angry with him, with what he did to me.”
He said Bell’s actions had made him feel insecure.
“I could not trust other men, I thought they would do the same. I think he should go to jail for a long time - other teenagers should not have to go through this.”
Bell, 49, sat expressionless in the Christchurch District Court as the teen and his father, flanked by supporters, struggled to contain their emotions at times during the sentencing hearing.
The boy’s father said he had a lot of trust in Bell being around his son.
“I don’t have any trust in him now after what he has done to my son. I don’t even like talking about him, as it makes me angry, what [he did] to my son.
“It has made me mindful of who I allow around my other kids, as I don’t want this to happen to any of them. It has become a very traumatic experience.”
He added that the experience “has made me closer to my son, which I am grateful for”.
The boy’s father said the abuse had taken a toll on his family as they had to deal with residual trauma.
The court heard the victim was extremely vulnerable, with a head injury, and Bell had taken advantage of him.
A pre-sentence report indicated Bell was at high risk of reoffending, with distorted thinking and no display of remorse.
Alongside charges of sexual connection with a young person and indecent acts with a young person, Bell faced charges of possessing hundreds of objectionable publications and making an objectionable publication that involved the victim.
He would look after the victim, who would often spend time at Bell’s house and stay overnight.
Over 18 months, he performed sex acts on the boy and told him not to tell anyone. The victim was too scared to reveal what was happening.
The boy told Bell it was illegal and tried to get away from him once, but Bell held him down.
The victim believed Bell had committed the sex acts on him about 50 times. Bell also supplied the boy with cannabis and alcohol.
Bell came to the attention of Polish authorities via a cellphone that had received child exploitation material, and in early 2023 the information was passed on to New Zealand police, who executed a search warrant on his home, seizing several devices.
More than 1000 files were found on his laptop and cellphone, images involving young boys in a variety of sexual acts and a large array of animals being sexually violated.
Bell’s web history showed more than 100 searches for child exploitation material and bestiality. Also on his phone were photographs and videos of Bell and the victim.
Judge Gerard Lynch described the offending as deplorable, vile and degrading.
The judge said Bell had told authorities that if the victim had been unhappy with the offending, he would not have visited his home. Bell’s main concern while in custody was with the wellbeing of his cats, Judge Lynch said.
Bell was at high risk without treatment, and it had been noted that an intensive sexual treatment programme would be vital.
Judge Lynch did not accept Bell’s apology and sentenced him to six years and three months’ jail.
Bell was also placed on the Child Sex Offenders Register as part of his sentencing.
Al Williams is an Open Justice reporter for the New Zealand Herald, based in Christchurch. He has worked in daily and community titles in New Zealand and overseas for the past 16 years. Most recently, he was editor of the Hauraki-Coromandel Post, based in Whangamatā. He was previously deputy editor of the Cook Islands News.