Charges against 7 people filed in beating of South Salt Lake man

The Salt Lake County district attorney's office filed charges Tuesday against seven people for their involvement in an attack on a man who took two children from a neighbor's house party after they wandered unsupervised. Police say David Bell claimed he was at a neighbor's Fourth of July party last year in South Salt Lake when he found two children awake and fussy. According to testimony in a case where Bell was accused -- and cleared -- of kidnapping the children, Bell told officers he wanted to take them to his house so they could sleep on the couch.

The children, ages 2 and 4, had already been removed from his home when his door was kicked down and he was attacked, according to affidavits filed Tuesday.


Attorneys for Bell, who is gay, have called the attack a hate crime.

Bell's throat and a toe were cut with a piece of broken glass and his head was smashed onto the sidewalk, causing hearing loss. His partner, Daniel Fair, also was beaten.

No hate crime charges were filed Tuesday.

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