A young woman confronted former army Corporal Adrien Bell in Whanganui District Court, condemning him for secretly filming her in the shower over six years.
Bell, who had pleaded guilty to multiple charges, including committing an indecent act and making intimate visual recordings, was sentenced to 10 months of home detention.
The court heard that Bell placed a hidden camera in the bathroom of a home, capturing and storing intimate footage of people living there, including minors. According to legacy media the woman’s statement described the enduring impact of Bell’s actions, expressing how she and other victims are sentenced to live with the trauma of being violated in their most private moments.
Judge Bruce Northwood, in sentencing Bell, emphasised the extensive breach of trust and the corrosive harm done to the victims, despite assessing Bell’s risk of reoffending as low to medium.
The discovery of 56 screenshots and videos on Bell’s laptop in 2022 exposed the depth of his intrusion. The sentencing has sparked outrage, particularly from the victims’ families, who criticised the decision not to place Bell on the child sex offender register, arguing that his non-custodial sentence undermines the severity of his offenses.
On the one hand, appalling excuse for a punishment.
On the other hand, there are now a LOT of irate fathers and older brothers who know precisely where this scumbag’s gonna be for the next 10 months.