Feds: Bristol man gets prison for child exploitation charges

A Bristol man was sentenced to 13 years in prison Friday for child exploitation offenses related to his attempt to engage in commercial sex with a minor, according to federal authorities.

Robert Marlin Sellers, 62, also was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Michael P. Shea in Hartford to 15 years of supervised release, according to federal authorities.

Law enforcement received information in 2020 that Sellers was sharing videos of child sex abuse on a website, federal authorities said in a statement, citing court documents and statements made in court.

“In November 2020, an undercover FBI employee began interacting with Sellers on the social media application Kik,” the statement said. “In the chats, Sellers made statements that he had sexually abused children and that he had trafficked a child to engage in commercial sex acts.”

According to federal authorities, Sellers also said he had “recently traveled out of state to have sex with” a child and made arrangements with the undercover investigator to pay $200 for an encounter with another child, federal authorities said in the statement.

In January 2021, Sellers, “using an encrypted instant messenger application, sent the undercover investigator a link to videos of child sex abuse that Sellers maintained on a file sharing website,” the statement said

Sellers was arrested on Feb. 4, 2021, at a hotel in Southington shortly after he gave the undercover investigator $200, federal authorities said in the statement.

Sellers has been detained since his arrest and on Feb. 14, 2022, he pleaded guilty to one count of attempted coercion and enticement of a minor, and one count of distribution of child pornography, according to federal authorities.

To report cases of child exploitation, visit www.cyber tipline.com.