A man has been jailed for having sex with a dead body.
Stephen Sellars, 62, of Hibaldstow, North Lincolnshire, was interrupted by the woman’s son and nephew as he carried out the act in her home.
On Friday, Sellars was sentenced to 16 months’ imprisonment at Hull Crown Court. He pleaded guilty to the offence of sexual penetration of a corpse at an earlier hearing.
In a statement read to the court, the victim’s son said the incident had a “massive impact” on him and described the offence as “unimaginable” and that “nothing could ever justify it”.
Passing sentence, Judge John Thackray KC said if the offence had taken place “less than a month later” he would have been able to sentence Sellars to a maximum of seven years in prison due to a law change.
As it stood, the judge said he could only impose a maximum sentence of two years, which he reduced due to his early guilty plea.
Prosecutor Rachel Scott said the woman had died at home after being diagnosed with cancer eight weeks earlier.
The court heard the victim was a “very proud woman” and they had tried to “preserve her dignity” throughout her illness.
Scott said Sellars had been left alone with the victim at the property for about 15 minutes.
It was on return to the house that the victim’s son and nephew caught Sellars committing the offence.
He then got dressed and “ran out of the property”, said Scott.
In text messages shared between the victim’s son and Sellars, the defendant said he “was smashed” and “I didn’t know what came over me”.
Scott told the court that Sellars had said to officers: “It was obvious what was going to happen, wasn’t it?”
In interview, Sellars denied the offence.
Scott said there were a number of aggravating features to the case, pointing out the crime took place in the presence of the woman’s family, in her own home, and there was “a significant abuse of trust”.
In addition, the barrister said there was “some degree of planning” after Sellars bolted a gate, locked the door, and shut the curtains to carry out the offence.
‘Clearly planned’
Ben Donnell, mitigating, said Sellars had not committed an offence since 1988, and had never committed a sexual offence.
He said he had worked as a lorry driver and was a “good employee”.
Donnell admitted it was a “tall ask” but asked the judge whether Sellars’ sentence could be suspended and served in the community.
Sentencing, Thackray said it was a “clearly planned attack”, which left her son feeling “numb and betrayed”, and said he “doesn’t think he will ever fully recover” from what happened.
The judge also imposed a five-year sexual harm prevention order on Sellars and a restraining order in respect of the victim’s son and nephew.