A former school teacher facing multiple charges involving child exploitation following cybercrimes investigations in Kentucky and Ohio pleaded guilty in the case, it was announced Friday.
Thomas Sellers, 41, pleaded guilty last month in Boyd Circuit Court to seven counts of possession of matter portraying sexual performance by a minor, Class D felonies. The Commonwealth recommended Sellers serve ten years in prison. Sellers is expected to be sentenced on September 27.
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The charges against Sellers stem from a 2012 undercover operation by the Ohio Attorney General’s office which identified a computer possessing images of child sexual exploitation. A subpoena revealed the Internet subscriber, who was identified as Sellers, lived in Catlettsburg, Ky. Agents from the Ohio Attorney General’s Computer Crimes Unit referred their findings to Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway’s Cybercrimes Unit for further investigation. Cybercrimes investigators executed a search warrant at Sellers’ home, and a forensic examination of his computer found 455 images and 325 videos depicting the sexual exploitation of children.
“The Internet is a safer place for Kentucky kids because of the efforts of my cybercrimes investigators and prosecutors,” General Conway said. “I appreciate their hard work to bring this case to a successful close.”
Since its creation in June of 2008, the Cybercrimes Unit has launched 341 child pornography investigations, seized more than 403,000 child pornographic images and videos from the Internet and has a 100 percent conviction rate. The unit is also a member of the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force
