A Conestoga man serving a life sentence for numerous sex crimes since 1964 will not get a new trial regarding his latest conviction of sharing child pornography.
A Lancaster County judge jailed 74-year-old James F. Sellard for life on the recent charges, Sellard’s fourth separate sex-crime conviction. Sex offenders with at least two qualifying, prior convictions of sex abuse are subject to a mandatory life-in-prison term for their third offense.
The Pennsylvania Superior Court recently denied Sellard’s appeal in which he argued police used an illegal search to obtain evidence.
The appeals court quashed that appeal, meaning Sellard will serve his life term.
Assistant District Attorney Janie Swinehart prosecuted the child-pornography case.
Police found a cache of pornography on Sellard’s computer during an online sweep conducted by the Lancaster County Computer Crimes Task Force, within the district attorney’s office. An agent posed undercover while searching for sharers of child pornography and came across Sellard. Sellard shared 27 files, in all: 13 videos and 14 photographs.
Sellard has prior convictions of: sodomy (1964), indecent assault of a child (1978), and indecent assault of another child (1985).
MEDIA CONTACT: Brett A. Hambright, 717-295-2041; bhambright@co.lancaster.pa.us