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A Texas man accused of repeatedly sexually assaulting a child will avoid prosecution on nine felony counts after striking a plea deal with a George Soros-backed Travis County prosecutor, according to a report.
Austin’s ABC affiliate KVUE reported that Richard Leigh Bell, 37, was indicted on nine felony charges — including one count of continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14, six counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child, and two counts of indecency with a child. Those charges were dropped as part of a plea deal that allowed Bell to plead guilty to one count of injury to a child, a third-degree felony.
Under the deal, Bell was sentenced to five years of deferred probation. He must register as a sex offender and is barred from contacting the victim, her family, or any minors, KVUE reported. The plea included no jail time.
Outside the courtroom on Monday, the victim’s father told KVUE he was blindsided by the decision and said prosecutors Efrain De La Fuente and Lorraine Garcia failed to include him in discussions about the plea.
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Richard Leigh Bell, 37, pleaded guilty to a lesser felony after prosecutors dropped nine child sex abuse charges as part of a plea deal. (Rockbridge Regional Jail)
“I was outraged to find out that this was not only our first and last plea deal, but this was our deal whether I liked it or not,” he said.
The father, who was not named to protect the victim’s identity, said he had expected a prison sentence for Bell.
“I think any parent would expect somebody to rot in jail for doing something like this,” he told KVUE. “As time went on, I expected a realistic plea deal to be years at least—long enough to serve some time in prison where you belong if you have successfully carried out pedophilic acts.”
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Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza poses in front of the Austin skyline in a portrait from the county website. Garza has faced criticism for accusations that he aggressively prosecutes police officers accused of wrongdoing while going easy on career criminals. (Travis County DA Website)
In Texas, deferred adjudication lets defendants avoid a conviction if they complete probation successfully, though any violation can trigger sentencing on the original charge. Bell’s probation conditions — including mandatory sex offender registration and no-contact restrictions — will remain in place for the entire five-year term.
Digital has reached out to Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza’s office and has not received a response.
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Travis County, Texas District Attorney Jose Garza working as an activist in 2019. (Rick Kern/Getty Images for MoveOn.org Civic Action)
Garza, who took office in deep-blue Travis County in 2021 after a campaign backed by progressive billionaire Soros, pledged to “reimagine” criminal justice and prosecute police officers. He has defended his record as district attorney, saying he is “doing exactly what Travis County voters elected him to do — fixing our broken criminal justice system by standing with survivors, working to end the excessive use of force by police, and prioritizing treatment over incarceration for nonviolent drug offenses.”
Critics have argued that Garza’s office has failed to advocate for victims and has promoted policies that make the city less safe.
He has also faced scrutiny for aggressively prosecuting police officers in a city still divided over the council’s 2020 decision to cut police funding.
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That tension came to a head in 2023, when Garza sparked outrage for appearing at the funeral of a fallen police officer — a move some called “a slap in the face.”
