Cleveland County man accused of sexually assaulting youth

A Cleveland County man is accused of sexually assaulting a youth with whom authorities said he exchanged pornographic images via Facebook.

Sheriff’s investigators charged Joshua Jai Sellers, 35, with attempted statutory sexual offense with a minor, indecent liberties with a minor, first-degree sexual exploitation of a minor, first-degree kidnapping, contributing to the delinquency of a minor and possession of methamphetamine.

Sellers was jailed on $502,000 bail and has a Feb. 2 court appearance.

Investigators said Sellers also picked up and drove the minor to a store and had “inappropriate contact” with the juvenile.

The investigation began when a person reported finding on their tablet a sexually explicit conversation on Facebook between the juvenile and Sellers. The juvenile had visited some members of the person’s family and gained access to the tablet, the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office said.

Joe Marusak

This story was originally published January 13, 2016 at 9:41 AM with the headline "Cleveland County man accused of sexually assaulting youth."