A “depraved” lorry driver “violated” a dead 60-year-old woman by having sex with her while he was “smashed” on drugs. Stephen Sellars later admitted that he “crossed a line” and deserved to be “knocked out”.
It was a “new low” for him and his “disgusting” and “surreal” sexual actions had a massive impact on her son, a court heard. Sellars, 62, of Church Street, Hibaldstow, near Brigg, but recently in custody on remand, admitted an offence of sexual penetration of a corpse on August 31.
Rachel Scott, prosecuting, told Hull Crown Court that the woman died at her home after suffering cancer and her body was, at the time, still there pending arrangements being made with funeral directors. Efforts were made by her family to ensure her dignity until this happened.
Her body was kept under a quilt in the living room and she was dressed in a nightie after her death. The woman’s son and another family member returned to her home to find the gate bolted, which was not the case when they had left to visit a member of the family.
They had to use a key to open the door. The curtains in the room were drawn. Sellars, who knew that the woman had died, was having sex with her.
She was naked from the waist down. Sellers said: “Sorry. I deserve knocking out.”
He admitted that he was “depraved” and had “crossed a line that should never have been crossed”. He claimed that he did not know what came over him.
He said that it was a “new low” and he blamed drugs for his behaviour. He was later arrested. He denied the offence and, during police interview, he made no comment to all questions.
The woman’s son later said that it was like his mother had been “violated” and his mind went blank. He had suffered nightmares. “This incident has had a massive impact on me,” he said.
He branded Sellars “disgusting” and it was “surreal” what he had done to his mother. He could not get his head around it. “There is nothing he could ever say that could justify it,” he said.
Losing a mother was one of the most traumatic experiences a person could go through and he had been “devastated” at her loss. “What happened made me feel numb,” he said.
Sellars did something that the woman’s son could never forget or forgive. “I just don’t understand why he could ever do such a thing to my mum,” said the son.
Sellars had convictions for 13 previous offences, none of them for sexual matters. His most recent conviction was in 1988.
Benjamin Donnell, mitigating, said that Sellars acted out of character and it was a one-off offence. “This is a very depraved and cruel act which was committed by the defendant,” said Mr Donnell.
“He had the good sense to plead guilty when he did. He has no history of this depraved behaviour.
“A great deal of heartache had been caused to the complainants and victims by this cruel act that was committed by the defendant.” Sellars had a good employment record and he worked as an HGV driver for 25 years.
Judge John Thackray KC told Sellars: “You had clearly planned to do this and had taken various actions to avoid detection. You had bolted the gate. You locked the door and you had drawn the curtains.”
Sellars was “discovered in the act” of having sex with the dead woman. He got dressed and ran from the property. Judge Thackray said of the woman’s son: “He feels understandably numb and betrayed. He has nightmares.
“Your offending has had a profound effect upon him and, no doubt, he will never fully recover from the effects of your offending.” Judge Thackray said that, at the time, the maximum sentence for the offence was two years, before credit for early guilty plea, making 16 months, but the law changed on September 29 to increase this to seven years.
“Had the offence taken place a month later, the sentence would have been measured in years, not months,” said Judge Thackray. “The offence seriousness is such that only appropriate punishment can be achieved by way of an immediate custodial sentence.”
Sellars was jailed for 16 months and he was given a five-year sexual harm prevention order. He must register as a sex offender for 10 years.
Judge Thackray confirmed that there were no reporting restrictions on the case as these only applied to a victim of sexual offences during their lifetime. He said that he had “no power” to make any restrictions. Miss Scott told the court that there appeared to be no discretionary restrictions that could be applied.
After the hearing, another family member, 44, of Louth, told Scunthorpe Live: “It’s nowhere near long enough.” He added, however, that he was “impressed with the judge” for imposing the maximum prison sentence that was possible.
“He gave him the best he could,” said the man. “Everything has just been on hold until this happened today.” When asked if he had a message for Sellars, the man said: “I hope you die in prison.”
He added: “I know it’s a bit harsh. I can’t think of any other way that I can get over it. He admitted that he was ‘smashed’. He was drugged up. He has just caused so much damage.”
Did you know you can make Hull Live a preferred source of Hull news in Google, which will mean you get more of our breaking news, exclusives, and must-read stories straight away? Here’s more information about what this means and how to do it – you can also do it straight away by clicking here.