KENNER, La. (WGNO) — On July 13, 62-year-old Sherneskie Bell was found guilty of possession of pornography involving juveniles under age 13. Kenner Police say the case began back in 2018, when Bell and his teenage girlfriend got into an argument about nude photos.
According to the Kenner Police Department, the girlfriend heard that there were naked photos of her on Bell’s phone. She took his phone to her home where she then discovered multiple pornographic images involving juveniles on the device. After seeing those images, her sister took the phone to the Police.
A search of Bell’s phone by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office led to the discovery of more than 2,700 illegal images, videos, and GIFs. Police say the images were downloaded over a period of a few months and included children as young as 3 years old.
According to the District Attorney’s Office, during the trial, Bell tried to convince the jurors that his girlfriend had stolen his phone and downloaded the pornographic images to frame him. He also suggested that “his girlfriend and her sister manipulated data on his phone to show the images were downloaded over a period of months.”
The DA’s Office says, “In rebuttal, the prosecution team provided expert testimony from the Sheriff’s Office’s Digital Forensic Unit, showing that it would have been impossible for Bell’s ex-girlfriend to have the expertise to manipulate the download dates in a matter of hours to show the images were obtained over a period of months.”
Bell will be sentenced on August 10, 2022.
