Yeovil man jailed
Michael Sellings, of Horsey Lane in Yeovil, appeared at Taunton Crown Court on Friday (July 15). Sellings pleaded guilty to 12 offences, which took place between November 2016 and June 2021, including:
- Three counts of raping a child under the age of 13
- One count of causing/inciting a girl under 13 to engage in sexual activity
- Three counts of making indecent photograph/pseudo-photographs of a child
- Three counts of taking an indecent photograph/pseudo-photograph of a child
- One count of possessing extreme pornographic images
- One count of possessing prohibited images of a child
Officers arrested Sellings following intelligence. When they searching his home they seized 11 different items which held photos of children. In total, he had in his possession more than 7,000 images including 1,751 category A images (the most serious). Officers also uncovered 28 additional images which Sellings had taken himself of two children under the age of 13.
63 year old Sellings was jailed for 12 years. He pleaded guilty to 12 offences including sexual offences against children. The judge said his offending had caused “absolute devastation” to his two victims. In addition to the custodial sentence, he was also given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.
Only 12 years? Surely these offences require a much longer sentence? Let’s hope that there is an application to increase it as the judge was clearly too lenient.