SANTA ANA — A 22-year-old man has been sentenced to six years in state prison for sexually assaulting an 18-year-old Chapman University freshman outside of her dormitory last fall. He is also required to register as a sex offender.
Dalante Jerome Bell, 22, of Anaheim, was found guilty by a jury in March of one felony count of assault with intent to commit a sex offense and sexual penetration by a foreign object.
Around midnight on September 23, 2021, Bell is accused of wearing a mask and attacking an 18-year-old student who was video chatting with her boyfriend. The woman fought back against her attacker, who fled the scene as people came to help the victim.
Numerous surveillance cameras captured the attacker leaving the scene.
Bell was arrested by the Orange Police Department after his parents watched news coverage of the attack and recognized their son as a person of interest.
“University campuses should be places of higher learning, not hunting grounds for sexual predators looking for a target,” said Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer. “Thankfully this young woman was able to bravely fight off her attacker. The Orange County District Attorney’s Office will not tolerate the sexual assault of anyone and he is being held accountable for his actions.”
Deputy District Attorney Austin Neiman of the Sexual Assault Unit prosecuted this case.
