Man sentenced to 30 years in prison for raping 13-year-old girl, DA says

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC/Gray News) - A Tennessee man has been sentenced to three decades in prison for abusing a young girl for several years.

According to the Shelby County District Attorney Amy Weirich. 37-year-old Dedrick Bell pled guilty to a felony charge for the rape of a child.

WMC reports Bell was arrested in July 2021 when a 13-year-old girl told her mother that he had been sexually assaulting her since she was 10 years old.

Authorities said Bell admitted to the girl’s mother that he had been abusing the girl in various locations when she confronted him. The 37-year-old reportedly told her the incidents happened around the house, in the backyard and sometimes in a car when she wasn’t home.

According to the district attorney’s office, Bell told authorities the assaults had been happening for the last three to four years.

Officials with the state said Bell has a court date scheduled for Sept. 9.