Rapist gets more prison time for promoting prostitution
By Sarah M. Wojcik
The 33-year-old man already serving 72 years to life in prison for rape and human trafficking was given an additional sentence of 19 months to seven years for his role in promoting prostitution while in prison.
Northampton County Judge Samuel Murray sentenced Seth Mull, 33, on Thursday after having convicted him at a bench trial last week of promoting prostitution.
“I have to consider the protection of the community,” Murray said at the sentencing.
Mull, deemed a “serial predator” by authorities, used a prison-issued tablet to communicate electronically with a woman outside of prison, grooming her to sell herself to him. He demanded she “embrace group sex,” go to “sex parties and orgies” and market herself sexually online, according to court records. The accusations featured lurid details similar to those that came out in Mull’s trial in December, including a “sex slave contract” that he allegedly asked the woman to sign and send to him.
On Thursday, Murray also denied Mull’s appeal of his previous trial, during which a jury found him guilty of rape and human trafficking. Mull’s appeal argued that his cases should not have been tried together, and he took issue with some of the evidence admitted into court.
Mull, who authorities said started targeting victims when he was 13, was convicted of 30 criminal charges in his 2018 trial and was found guilty of targeting multiple women through online dating apps. He would attack, assault and rape his victims, and five of the survivors provided harrowing testimony about their experience with Mull.
The survivors testified that Mull claimed them as his property, assaulted them physically and sexually, and threatened to harm them or their families if they didn’t comply.
Following Thursday’s sentencing, Northampton County District Attorney Terry Houck said he hoped the additional years tacked onto Mull’s sentence would provide some relief to those he victimized and serve to empower those who have spoken out.
“Today we succeeded in protecting our community by incarcerating a very dangerous man for a long period of time,” Houck said. “Although this may only be a small comfort to many of his many victims, I am confident a great deal of future harm has been averted, and their courage to speak out is the main reason for that.”