Man Convicted Of Southington 'Sex Date' With Minor Sentenced: Feds

SOUTHINGTON, CT — A 62-year-old man who pleaded guilty to arranging to have sex with a fictitious 12-year-old girl will spend 13 years in prison, the Connecticut District Attorney's Office announced today.

Robert Marlin Sellers, 62, of Bristol was sentenced on Friday to 156 months (13 years) in prison, followed by 15 years of supervised release.

The sentence comes around 14 months after an undercover investigator told him that he had a 12-year-old daughter ("Doe") and Sellers introduced the idea that the girl could be trafficked for sex.

Sellers arranged to have sex with Doe in exchange for $200, and on Feb. 4, 2021 he was arrested at the Motel 6 in Southington (625 Queen St.) after he gave the investigator the $200 in exchange for sex with her.

Investigations into Sellers began in 2020, when law enforcement was told that he was sharing videos of child sexual abuse on a website that is "focused on incest," the district attorney's office said, citing court documents and statements made in court.

The undercover investigator, an FBI employee, began interacting with Sellers on social media app Kik.

Sellers told him that he had sexually abused children, trafficked a child to engage in commercial sex acts, and had recently traveled out-of-state to have sex with another 12-year-old girl, the district attorney's office said.

In January 2021, Sellers used an encrypted instant messenger app to send the undercover investigator a link to videos of child sex abuse that he kept on a file-sharing website, according to the district attorney's office.

Sellers has been detained since his arrest, and on Feb. 14 he pleaded guilty to one count of attempted coercion and enticement of a minor and one count of distribution of child pornography.

Read more:

• FBI-Arranged 'Sex Date' With Minor Leads To Arrest In Southington
• Fed Charges Added To Child 'Sex Date' Case At Southington Motel