A Martinez man facing charges of sexual exploitation will remain in jail pending possible indictment and trial, a judge ruled Tuesday, Nov. 15.
Taylor Shellito, 34, was arrested in October following several tips concerning the downloading of images of child pornography.
Assistant District Attorney Amber Brantley said during Shellito’s Columbia County Superior Court bond hearing Tuesday that three short videos of children being sexual molested were sent to a third party from an online account linked to Shellito.
Although Shellito has no prior felony conviction, he was investigated in 2017 on child molestation allegations. The 12-year-old alleged victim at first denied any inappropriate contact but later said she had been molested but lied because Shellito told her that he could go to jail if she told anyone, Brantley said. The case was never taken to the district attorney for prosecution, Brantley said.
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Defense attorney Keith Johnson asked Judge J. Wade Padgett to set aside the 2017 allegations since there was no arrest or prosecution. Stellito has family support and steady employment. He also served in three combat tours while in the military, Johnson said.
Johnson noted that electronic devices taken from Stellito’s home Oct. 19 have not yet revealed any child pornography, and the account allegedly used to download that material was accessible by another individual, Johnson said.
Padgett denied bond finding Stellito posed a possible danger of interfering with the investigator or of committing criminal acts if freed on bond.
Sandy Hodson is a staff reporter covering courts for The Augusta Press. Reach her at sandy@theaugustapress.com.Â
