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June 1, 2009

Man accused of assaulting children is assaulted in jail

By Kelly Young

kyoung@jacksonvilleprogress.com

Dickie Paul Bellanger, the 21-year-old man arrested last week for allegedly sexually assaulting two young children, was hospitalized this weekend after he was apparently attacked by one or more of his fellow inmates inside the Cherokee County Jail.

Sheriff James Campbell said his detectives are investigating the incident to determine exactly what happened. If the culprits are identified, the sheriff said assault charges could be brought against the inmates involved.

“We had an inmate who allegedly had some people jump on him and attack him, and we are conducting an investigation now to find out what happened and who did it,” Campbell said. “It occurred Saturday morning, and he was taken to ETMC-Rusk for treatment. I really can’t say much more because we are still investigating it.”

While the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Department would not release any specifics regarding Bellanger’s injuries, one of his family members was able to provide a few details. According to Ashley Beall, Bellanger’s sister-in-law, he suffered two broken ribs, a fractured jaw and a broken nose.

Beall also claims the assault took place about 7:30 a.m. Saturday, but the jail staff did not take Bellanger to receive treatment until quite a while later. Campbell said the investigation thus far disputes her claim.

“We’re not through investigating it yet, but from what we have been able to determine so far, my jail staff did not know about it until about 7 or 7:30 a.m. — and he was taken out to see the doctor as soon as the staff knew about it,” Campbell said.

The incident appears to have occurred in a portion of the facility that does not have a surveillance system. CCJ has security cameras in all common areas, large dorm cells and hallways, but some of the older jail cells are not electronically monitored.

According to Campbell, Bellanger has been transferred to a single cell since the incident. The sheriff said he couldn’t comment on whether the nature of the charges against Bellanger played a role in making him a target for violence.

“If we know there is going to be a problem ahead of time we will separate certain prisoners, but sometimes we don’t know there is going to be a problem until it is over with,” he said. “We can go a long time and not have anything like this take place, but every once in a while it does happen.”

In other Bellanger-related news, Beall is one of several family members and friends who — confident of his innocence — is claiming the Jacksonville Police Department did not fully investigate all suspects in the case before arresting Bellanger.

Bellanger stands accused of sexually assaulting his girlfriend’s two infants, and Beall said the detectives in the case need to take another look at the victims’ biological father. Candi Bellanger, Dickie Bellanger’s mother, was also arrested last week, and was charged with two counts of child endangerment.

“I seriously think the father did what they are accusing Dickie of. The little boy came home from his father’s house one weekend and I saw distinct thumb-mark bruises on his ears as if the child had been pulled and dragged by the ears,” Beall said. “Candi and Dickie have always taken excellent care of my two children — and the children of other friends and family — and there has very been a problem from it. I think the police need to look further into other people; I just don’t think there is any possible way Dickie could do something like this.”

The main investigator handling the case for JPD, however, remains confident the department arrested the right man. Detective Travis Cearley said the case against Bellanger is quite strong, and that their investigation has turned up nothing suspicious about the victims’ father.

“The case is still under investigation and there are still more people involved in the case who will be brought in and questioned, but as far as the arrests that have already been made, rather strong probable cause was developed indicating Dickie Paul Bellanger as the person who abused the children,” Cearley said. “Based on the statements of several different people, we have been able to establish a timeline that puts the children receiving the injuries at a time when they were specifically with Bellanger — as opposed to being with their father or anybody else for that matter.”

Cearley would not provide details regarding the forensic evidence collected during the execution of a search warrant at the Bellanger residence other than to say that it has been sent for processing to a state lab in Garland. JPD also acquired a DNA search warrant for a reference sample of DNA from Bellanger and both victims.

The results from the forensic testing is expected to take several months to return.

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