Palm Harbor Woman Sentenced To Five Years In Federal Prison For Receiving Child Pornography

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Elizabeth A. Kovachevich has sentenced Vivienne Yvette Sellers (78, Palm Harbor) to five years in federal prison for receiving child pornography. The court also ordered Sellers to forfeit the electronic devices that she used in the commission of the offense.

Sellers had pleaded guilty on April 8, 2019.

According to court documents, Sellers used an internet-based mobile application to receive child pornography and discuss the sexual abuse of children. Between May 30 and June 17, 2017, Sellers used the app to communicate with another user whom she believed to be a nine-year-old boy, and she received images and videos of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

Sellers admitted to law enforcement agents that she had used her cellphone to access the app and communicate with a child about sex. Sellers stated that she sent sexually explicit pictures of herself to the child and received sexually explicit photos from the child. Sellers further admitted that she wanted the child to come over to her house with his friend because it was her fantasy to have sex with two boys at the same time.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lisa M. Thelwell.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.