District Man Sentenced to 135 Months in Transportation of Child Pornography

WASHINGTON - Dontrey Bell, 33, of the District of Columbia, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court to 135 months in prison in connection with possessing several videos of himself as he exposed and manipulated his genitals in close proximity to a child as she slept, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.

Bell pleaded guilty on July 24, 2025, before Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly to one count of transportation of child pornography. In addition to the 135-month prison term, Judge Kollar-Kotelly ordered Bell to serve 15 years of supervised release.

"Bell's actions represent a profound betrayal of trust and a disturbing exploitation of a child's vulnerability. The evidence in this case revealed calculated and deeply troubling conduct that cannot be tolerated in any community," said U.S. Attorney Pirro. "My office remains committed to holding offenders accountable and ensuring that those who prey on children face serious consequences. We will continue to work tirelessly to protect victims and pursue justice in every case."

According to court documents, on May 6, 2023, a witness called police to report she had discovered five videos and one image depicting Bell sneaking into a girl's bedroom and engaging in sexual behavior near the child while the child was asleep.

In one of the videos, the child is seen waking up, and an adult male tells the child that he is in the bedroom to get cats out of the room. In another video, the individual recording the video turns the camera on himself selfie-style and records himself putting his head under child's covers while the child is sleeping.

The witness identified the male as Bell. The phone was linked to Bell's cloud storage. The videos showed were timestamped between Aug. 9, 2022, and Apr. 28, 2023, and recorded between 4 a.m. and 6 a.m.

Joining U.S. Attorney Pirro in the announcement was FBI Assistant Director in Charge Darren B. Cox of the Washington Field Office.

This case was investigated by the MPD-FBI Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Caroline Burrell and Michael Lawlor.

The matter was brought as part of the Department of Justice's Project Safe Childhood initiative. In February 2006, the Attorney General created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorney's Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.projectsafechildhood.govLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the "external link" icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link..

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