Anderson grandfather sentenced to 24 years in prison for horrific neglect

A tear rolled down Steve Sells' cheek Friday as he tried to apologize for the horrific abuse and neglect of his teenage granddaughter.

But the Anderson man's apology, offered during his sentencing hearing, expressed more than remorse. It also shifted blame.

"I apologize I didn't get her to the doctor. I thought she was going to do it," Sells said, referring to his wife, Joetta, who also faced criminal charges. "How could she do this to me?"

Sells, 59, made no mention of dragging his granddaughter up and down the stairs by her hair, of starving her, of keeping her locked in a nearly bare room or of forcing her to defecate in a bucket. The 15-year-old weighed less than 40 pounds and had feces caked under her nails when she was rushed to the hospital in December.

"It floors me you have the ability to stand there and say it's somebody else's fault," Madison Circuit Court Judge Mark Dudley said.

Dudley sentenced Sells to 24 years in prison, the maximum sentence under the terms of his plea agreement. The judge also ordered Sells to repay $55,590.35 in government funds he had received to care for his granddaughter.

Dudley said Sells committed "deplorable acts" and deprived his granddaughter of basic human contact, food and medical attention.

"You were one step away from killing her," Dudley said.

Sells pleaded guilty earlier this month to all 17 charges against him: three counts of neglect of a dependent causing serious bodily injury, three counts of neglect of a dependent, three counts of criminal confinement, two counts of battery against a disabled person, one count of battery resulting in bodily injury, two counts of welfare fraud, two counts of theft and one count of perjury, Madison Circuit Court records show.

It was the second time he had pleaded guilty to the charges. Dudley threw out Sells' first plea in October after he denied abusing his granddaughter.

Documents indicate Sells' then-15-year-old granddaughter, who has physical and mental disabilities, was starved, savagely beaten, forced to eat feces and urine and trapped in a locked room with little more than a mattress, space heater and bucket. Investigators found her room covered in feces, with blood on the floor.

Sells' wife, Joetta, and daughter, Crystal Sells, also were charged for the teen's abuse and neglect.

Joetta Sells was sentenced to 24 years in prison in October after pleading guilty to 10 charges, including neglect, criminal confinement and battery resulting in bodily injury. She is appealing her sentence.

Crystal Sells' case still is pending.

Attorney Bob Summerfield said Steve Sells, who took custody of his granddaughter when she was 2, had properly cared for her until marrying Joetta Sells. The attorney claimed Steve Sells "left child-rearing to his wife," while he worked. Summerfield also blamed state officials, including those from Medicaid and the Indiana Department of Child Services, for their "complete and utter failure" to protect the girl.

"The only agency that performed its duty was the prosecutor's office," Summerfield said.

Now 16, Sells' granddaughter is living in a safe place. She is walking and weighs about 100 pounds, her guardian said in October. The teen also attends school and can feed and bathe herself.

Deputy Prosecutor Stephanie Wade said she hopes the Sellses' cases remind people to be more observant and take care of each other, so what happened to the teen won't happen to others.

"Our victim deserved better," she said.

Call Star reporter Marisa Kwiatkowski at (317) 444-6135. Follow her on Twitter: @IndyMarisaK.