TEMPE, Ariz. — A man convicted of sexually assaulting a Maricopa County College student in 2021 on the Arizona State University campus has been sentenced to 40 years in prison.
Back in April, Eric T. Bell, 33, was found guilty of sexual assault and kidnapping at the recent conclusion of his trial in Maricopa County Superior Court.
The attack was reported in October 2021 after a student was grabbed from behind by a man as she was walking to work near 6th Street and Packard Drive, records show.
The victim thought the assailant was a jogger before he grabbed her and forced her to the ground. After assaulting the victim, Bell ordered her to count to 50 as he ran from the scene.
The Maricopa County Attorney's Office said Bell's DNA was found on the victim. In addition, Bell reportedly resembled the man captured on surveillance cameras walking behind the victim, records show.
MCAO said Bell chose to represent himself during the recent criminal trial.
“These cases are already challenging enough, even when the defendant has his own lawyer,” County Attorney Rachel Mitchell said in a statement. “When the defendant is representing himself, my lawyers must work doubly hard to ensure he doesn’t make mistakes that would jeopardize a conviction. I’m particularly proud of this team who took all that into account and still made sure he will go to prison where he belongs.”
Editor's note: A previous version of this story identified the victim as an ASU student. It has been updated to reflect the victim was a student at Maricopa County College.
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What is the Valley?:
“The Valley” is what locals call the Phoenix Metropolitan Area. It is considered the largest metropolitan area in the Southwest.
The Valley is made up of various major cities other than Phoenix, including:
- Mesa
- Chandler
- Scottsdale
- Tempe
- Glendale
- Surprise
- Peoria
- Gilbert
- El Mirage
- Avondale
- Litchfield Park
- Goodyear
- Buckeye
Whether a city is in the “East Valley” or “West Valley” depends on where it is in relation to Phoenix.
The cities of the Valley have a combined population of 4,845,832 people, according to the 2020 United States Census. This makes it the 11th largest metropolitan area in the country right behind the Boston and Atlanta areas.
How big is Maricopa County?
Maricopa County is the United States’ 4th largest county in terms of population with 4,485,414 people, according to the 2020 Census.
The county contains around 63% of Arizona’s population and is 9,224 square miles. That makes the county larger than seven U.S. states (Rhode Island, Delaware, Connecticut, Hawaii, New Jersey, Massachusetts and New Hampshire).
One of the largest park systems in the nation is also located in Maricopa County. The county has an estimated 120,000 acres of open space parks that includes hundreds of miles of trails, nature centers and campgrounds.
The county’s seat is located in Phoenix, which is also the state capital and the census-designated 5th most populous city in the United States.
The county was named after the Maricopa, or Piipaash, Native American Tribe.