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A Shelbyville, Kentucky minister has been sentenced for having sex with a 15-year-old boy and the minister is HIV positive.  And Minister James Bell admits, he knew he was HIV positive at the time of act.

‘All child sex abuse, no matter who the perpetrator is, is horrific and damaging. But it’s especially damaging if it’s a religious figure,’ said David Clohessy with Survivors Network Abused by Priests (SNAP).

Such is the case for a now 17-year-old boy sexually abused by James Bell on numerous occasions two years ago.

Bell was minister of Refuge Temple Church of God in Christ in Shelbyville. The church’s website says Bell is married with three children and ‘a man of great faith who preaches the whole counsel of God.’

But in 2008, Bell voluntarily came forward to police and admitted to having unprotected sex with a juvenile. Bell knew then that he is HIV positive.

The judge sentenced Bell to 7 years behind bars and 20 years on the sex offender registry.