Hibbing man charged with sexual abuse of child – Duluth News Tribune

HIBBING – A man allegedly took a small child to a “hiding place” and sexually abused him.

Dakota Wyatt Sellman, 21, of Hibbing, was arraigned last week in state district court on charges of first-degree sexual abuse and exhibitionism while interfering with or restraint of a person’s liberty.

The incident was reported to Hibbing Police on the afternoon of July 20.

A criminal complaint states that Sellman approached the child, whom he knew, about going on a bike ride. The girl refused and was “scared and crying,” as she later told officers. But Sellman insisted, dragging her to her bike and injuring her knees when she said “no.”

The child reported that he then took her to a hiding place near a shed at Hibbing High School and exposed himself and the victim. The lawsuit alleges that Sellman forced her to perform several sexual acts, even though she called it “disgusting” and said she did not want to be there.

The defendant allegedly told the child not to tell anyone about the incident. She showed officers the hiding place and gave a consistent statement in a forensic interview two days later, the indictment says.

Authorities said Sellman claimed in an interview that the child first asked him to expose himself, but acknowledged that he was the one who asked her to touch him. He denied the child’s claim that he touched her inappropriately.

“He said he was not thinking at the time and was not ‘in his right mind,'” the complaint states.

Judge Andrew Peterson set unconditional bail at $100,000 and ordered possible supervised release. Sellman remained in the St. Louis County Jail on Monday.

Sellman, who apparently has no criminal past, is scheduled to appear in court again on Thursday.

Tom Olsen has covered crime and courts and the 8th Congressional District for the Duluth News Tribune since 2013. He is a graduate of the University of Minnesota Duluth and has lived in the city since birth. Readers can reach Olsen at 218-723-5333 or [email protected].