x
Breaking News
More () »

Centerton man arrested for sexual assault of minor reportedly worked for several daycares

According to police reports, a tip from Snapchat led investigators to Sellars' IP address.

CENTERTON, Ark. — According to authorities, Christian Sellars, 21, from Centerton was arrested for multiple sex crimes as part of a joint cyber investigation operation conducted between the Centerton Police Department (CPD) and the Benton County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO).

Sellars' bond has been set at $250,000 and he is set to be arraigned on July 24, 2023, in Benton County.

According to BCSO, Sellars had worked at several daycares across Rogers, Centerton, and Bentonville starting in at least 2021. However, the sheriff's office hasn't released the names of those daycares.

According to those same reports, police say they received a tip from Snapchat to the National Center for Missing and Endangered Children (NCMEC) surrounding Sellars. They were told they had found obvious child sexual abuse material on the app. They were able to link this material back to Sellars through his IP address and username.

Police also received another tip from the online chat site Omegle, which matches users with random people over a chat or video call. According to Omegle's report, while conducting a search for spambots and other abuse in the chat section, they found a message that was later tracked to Sellars' IP address soliciting a young boy. 

Police reported finding numerous pictures and videos of child sexual abuse when searching Sellars' phone and computer. There were over 300 video and picture files in a hidden folder on his phone, but Sellars allegedly said he possessed around 100 pictures and videos. 

In his confession, Sellars also admitted to touching a minor inappropriately twice and was charged with two counts of sexual assault, according to officials.

Detectives believe there may be other victims. If you have any information regarding Sellars or your children’s interaction with Sellars, please contact the Benton County Sheriff’s Office at (479) 271-1008.

Watch 5NEWS on YouTube.

Download the 5NEWS app on your smartphone:

Stream 5NEWS 24/7 on the 5+ app: How to watch the 5+ app on your streaming device

To report a typo or grammatical error, please email KFSMDigitalTeam@tegna.com and detail which story you're referring to.

Before You Leave, Check This Out