Troy Stephen Bell MP found guilty by jury in theft, dishonesty trial

Mount Gambier MP Troy Bell has been found guilty of stealing more than $400,000 intended for needy children to spend on home renovations, overseas holidays and his mortgage.

A Mount Gambier MP accused of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars meant for the education of vulnerable and at-risk youths has been found guilty by a jury after an agonising three-month trial.

The 12-person jury, who first retired about 3.55pm on Tuesday, found Troy Stephen Bell guilty on all but one charge.

He was found guilty of 20 counts of theft and five counts of dishonest dealings with documents after more than two days of deliberations. He was acquitted of one count of dishonestly dealing with documents.

Troy Bell is seen leaving Adelaide District Court. Picture: NewsWire/Roy VanDerVegt

As the first guilty verdict was read to the court, Bell visibly reacted, rocking backward and letting out a big sigh as the verdict continued to be delivered. He could be seen mouthing the word “wow”.

After the jury handed down their verdict, Judge Soulio thanked them for their diligent service and “clear attention” to evidence and submissions during the course of the trial.

“It has been very apparent in the course of this long trial that you have been very dedicated to fulfilling your duty as jurors,” Judge Soulio said.

His Honour ordered they each be exempted from further jury duty in the future.

As he left court, Bell did not comment to waiting media, but apologised to a cameraman he bumped into when entering a waiting car.

Liberal Party SA director Alex Hyde said: “Mr Bell has been found guilty and is entitled to consider his rights to appeal.

“We will make no further comment until the court process is finalised.”

It was alleged Bell took over $400,000 from the not-for-profit Independent Learning Centre (ILC) and used the money on home renovations, flights to Los Angeles and to offset his mortgage.

Bell, 51, was standing trial in the District Court in front of Judge Rauf Soulio charged with 20 counts of theft and six counts of dishonest dealings with documents.

Last week, Nicholas Healy, for Bell, told the jury the prosecution’s case had “more holes than a Balfours crumpet”.

“The entire prosecution case is misguided, it’s misleading, it’s confused and confusing, and it is internally inconsistent,” Mr Healy said.

“Your job is not to speculate, your job is not to fill in the gaps. Your job is not to complete a jigsaw puzzle.

“This case concept of the prosecution lacks cogency, yet the prosecution ignore that and simply concentrates on matters that take their case nowhere.

“This is not a trial by vibe – we are not characters in the iconic Australian film The Castle.”

In her closing address earlier this month, prosecutor Jemma Litster said Bell took more than $436,000 from not-for-profit education groups – motivated by greed and “an ongoing capacity to benefit financially”.

“Over $400,000 more went out than came back,” Ms Litster said. “Members of the jury, that was a conservative calculation, I suggest, in Mr Bell’s favour.

“There’s no doubt Mr Bell was a man who was well liked by most people. It’s the prosecution case that he abused that trust and good will – that’s one of the reasons his fraud went unnoticed for so long.

“The evidence suggests that even his wife wasn’t fully aware of his offending. He was placating his wife – he wasn’t speaking openly to her.”

Bell’s wife is not accused of any wrongdoing.