3621 W MacArthur Blvd Suite 107 Santa Ana, CA 92704
Toll Free – (844)-500-1351 Local – (714)-604-1416 Fax – (714)-907-1115

Anaheim man convicted of sexually assaulting student on Chapman University campus

Rent Computer Hardware You Need, When You Need It

A 22-year-old Anaheim man was convicted Wednesday of sexually assaulting a freshman student during an early-morning attack last year on the Chapman University campus.

An Orange County Superior Court jury deliberated for several days before finding Dalante Jerome Bell guilty of felony counts of assault with intent to commit sexual offense and sexual penetration by a foreign object. The victim was an 18-year-old woman, who was attacked in a courtyard next to Henley Hall on Sept. 24.

The woman testified that Bell, dressed all in black and wearing a mask with white on it that made it appear to look like a skeleton, attacked her without provocation, knocked her down and assaulted her when she was on the ground.

Bell’s attorney, Dermot Damian Givens, countered by denying there was a sexual assault and described the woman as the aggressor, alleging she yelled racial slurs at Bell. During the trial, the defense attorney repeatedly described Bell – an Amazon delivery driver – as the victim of racism.

The woman testified that she had gone to the courtyard to have privacy while video chatting with her boyfriend, who goes to another college. Bell suddenly confronted her, the woman alleged, then knocked her down as she tried to walk past him and continued to strike her while she was on the ground, attempting to “finger” her through her clothes in the process.

Security camera footage played during the trial caught a portion of the struggle, appearing to show the woman falling to the ground and flailing her legs as the man is above her. The woman said she screamed and kicked at Bell, and within 30 seconds other people responded to the area.

The man ran off, but numerous security cameras captured him leaving the area. Police later publicly released footage they said showed the man after he took off his mask. When Bell’s father saw that footage on the news he convinced Bell to turn himself in to police.

During the trial, Deputy District Attorney Austin Neiman told a Santa Ana jury that DNA matching Bell’s was found on the shirt and sweatpants the woman was wearing at the time of the alleged attack.

Bell’s attorney said he had come to Orange to party at the District Lounge, but had overheard someone in line talking about a potential party at Chapman University and decided to walk to the campus.

Unable to locate any parties, Bell was walking out of the campus when he saw “some girls” and decided to talk to the woman, who was sitting at a picnic table in the courtyard, the defense attorney said. She responded by spitting at Bell and calling him “the N-word” and other racial slurs as he walked away, the defense attorney told jurors.

Givens alleged that Bell turned around to give the woman “a piece of his mind” when they both stumbled and fell. The woman “kicked his butt,” Bell’s attorney told jurors, and he ran from the campus.

The woman testified to chasing Bell briefly following the alleged attack while yelling expletives at him, but denied using any racial epithets. She said she didn’t know his ethnicity since a mask was covering his face.

Bell is scheduled to return to court for sentencing on Apr. 22.

Related Articles


Man, woman tied to Orange fatal 55 Freeway shooting of 6-year-old boy going to trial, judge rules


Newsom again rejects parole for Manson family member Leslie Van Houten


Laguna Beach man accused of attempting to kill federal judge goes on trial again


Former OC sheriff’s reserve captain pays millions in restitution for workers’ compensation fraud


OC man, once convicted of terrorism, gets nearly 16 years for drug dealing

Generated by Feedzy