A Cedar Hill, Texas, youth pastor who was caught in the act while sexually attacking a 6-year-old child last Thursday is now facing two aggravated sexual assault charges. The good Samaritans who spotted the man with the child attacked him and gave him a beating to stop him from causing further harm.

FOX 4 reports that Willie Lee Bell, Jr., 29, was in the process of sexually assaulting a 6-year-old boy behind an apartment complex when a few good Samaritans witnessed it. They began attacking Bell to get him to stop, according to the child’s mother, who wishes to remain anonymous.

“It’s painful. It’s devastating. It’s a nightmare…..If it wasn’t for them, he probably would have done more to my child.”

Witnesses pummel youth minister accused of sexually assaulting 6-year-old boy https://t.co/TKX9qJz74n pic.twitter.com/nFqtlZdRJn — Global Grind (@GlobalGrind) April 7, 2016

Two other children, both male, ages 6 and 7, came forward and told police that a man wearing “church shoes” sexually abused them in February, behind their apartment complex off of East Little Creek Road. Both boys were members of the United Methodist Church of North Texas, in Cedar Hill, where Bell served as a youth pastor.

So far, it’s unclear why Bell wasn’t arrested after the two children came forward. The church is cooperating with the police and a representative claimed that they had no idea about Bell’s actions and that no criminal activity occurred on church grounds.

The youth pastor was recently inside Cedar Hills’ Bray Elementary School. He spoke to the principal about starting a mentorship program with the children. The school principal sent emails to the parents, assuring them that Bell was never alone with any of the students and that the program never started.

Youth pastor Willie Bell was attacked by good samaritans after he was caught sexually assaulting a child. (Photo by Dallas Police Department)

In the most recent attack against the 6-year-old, Bell is accused of luring the child behind an apartment building in Dallas, off of the 4100 block of Altoona Drive, while the boy was outside playing with friends. Bell didn’t know the child or his family. When the 6-year-old’s mother learned about what happened, she was shocked to hear that Bell was a pastor.

“When I heard he is a student pastor, I’m like really? Who can you trust? Who can you believe?”

This isn’t the first time Bell has been accused of abusing children. According to court documents, the youth pastor was accused of showing adult material to a young child in Tennessee.

Texas carries harsh sentences for those found guilty of sexual assault against children. Last month, 33-year-old convicted child molester David Wilson of Houston was sentenced to life in prison for sexually assaulting several children, including a 23-month-old toddler who was abused so badly that she needed reconstructive surgery on her genitals. The toddler also contracted HIV, genital herpes, and chlamydia from Wilson

Prior to abusing the toddler, Wilson sexually molested a 14-year-old girl for over two years and ended up getting her pregnant. The teen contracted the same diseases as the toddler.

Under the Texas Penal Code, Title 5, Chapter 22, Sections 22.011 and 22.021, sexual assault against a child can carry a sentence of up to 25 years if the victim was age 6 or younger when the crime occurred. Continued sexual assault on minors is a first-degree felony which can lead to life in prison, depending on the circumstances. Hefty fines are also associated with each conviction.

The youth pastor faces two felony counts of aggravated sexual assault on a child, and is being held at the Dallas County jail on a $50,000 bond. Anyone with any information on Bell should contact the Dallas Police Department immediately at 214-671-4217.

[Photo by Dallas County Jail]