• e-mail

A lawn mower man waged a nighttime campaign of sexual terror against women and children across northern New South Wales for six years without once being caught. 

Dean Anthony Sellenthin stalked dozens of victims of all ages and both sexes - filming them naked in bedrooms and bathrooms and stealing underwear from their homes.

Among his victims was a blind 91-year-old woman who Sellenthin indecently assaulted while she slept on at least ten separate nights over more than a year. 

He also raped three dogs 19 times in a spate of unchecked sexual offending which a judge described as covering a 'staggering' range of crimes.

Sellethin, now 44, filmed all his offences and carefully catalogued the recordings so he could watch them again later to satisfy his perverted desires.

His crime wave stretched through Byron Bay, Bangalow, Suffolk Park, Brunswick Heads, Mullumbimby, Upper Coopers Creek and Main Arm from 2011 to 2017. 

Dean Anthony Sellenthin has been jailed for 16 years over more than 80 offences including the aggravated sexual assault of a 91-year-old woman  and having sex with dogs. He appeared in court last Friday via audio-visual link from the Cessnock Correctional Complex

Dean Sellenthin's crime wave stretched through Byron Bay, Bangalow, Suffolk Park, Brunswick Heads, Mullumbimby, Upper Coopers Creek and Main Arm in northern NSW from 2011 to 2017

Sellenthin repeatedly broke into the home of blind 91-year-old woman and sexually and indecently assaulted her while she slept. The woman did not wake during the attacks. Stock image 

Some of his victims were clients of his lawn mowing and handyman business but most were strangers he found by chance while out prowling. 

Detectives were able to identify 33 addresses where Sellenthin had filmed naked women and children or stolen underwear but there were at least a dozen more premises they could not locate precisely.

He stole more than 300 items of  underwear from clotheslines, washing machines, laundry baskets and bedroom drawers. He even raided clothing bags left out for charities and lost and found baskets at three north coast laundromats. 

Sellenthin, who was jailed for 16 years last Friday, had previously been imprisoned in 2007 for 16 months over 87 similar offences and was on the child sex offender's register after his release.

It was during a compliance check on those registry conditions that police finally discovered Sellenthin had not only returned to offending but escalated his crimes.

In November 2017 police attended Sellenthin's Bangalow home and found child abuse material on a Lenevo laptop. 

Upon that discovery Sellenthin pulled out the bottom drawer of his bedside table and removed another HP laptop, hard drives and numerous USBs and memory cards, telling police: 'You're going to find it anyway'.

Lawn mower man Dean Sellenthin broke into homes and stole hundreds of pairs of women's and children's underwear for his sexual gratification. Stock image

Dean Sellenthin waged a campaign of bizarre sexual offending in Byron Bay Shire from 2011 to 2017, stalking victims, having sex with dogs, and photographing naked boys and girls. Pictured is Main Beach at Byron Bay

Further searches on Sellenthin's home revealed women's underwear - some still in its packaging - as well as three digital cameras and more electronic storage devices. 

Among the files detectives located was a document titled 'candid forums 1' which Sellenthin had submitted to an online group for men interested in voyeurism and stealing women's underwear.

The catalogued files of videos and still images had names such as 'daughter_just washed_still wet', 'eldest daughter_babe' and and 'gran_91years_3'.

'The images and video files displayed largely females of all ages in various stages of undress,' an agreed statement of police facts said. 

'Some were engaged in intimate or private acts such as sexual intercourse, using the toilet, showering etc.

'It was clear these images had been taken covertly by the offender through uncovered windows and the like.

'On many of the video files there is audio of the offender making comments to himself consistent with sexual arousal from what he is filming.'

While filming two naked girls aged ten and 12 through a window Sellenthin was recorded saying, 'oh my god', 'that's beautiful', and 'that's the oldest - whoa'.

While filming another woman and her daughters he said, 'there's mumma', 'phew, she's hot - even without the makeup' and 'here we f***ing go'.  

Sellenthin's worst offending was against an elderly woman whose home he repeatedly invaded over 14 months to film himself sexually assaulting her.

'In a separate category there were numerous images and videos of the offender committing sexual offences on at least 10 separate occasions on a frail 91-year-old blind woman who, whilst heavily medicated at night, was asleep at these times,' the statement of facts said.

Sellenthin had told the court he was 'deeply sorry' for the attacks on the 91-year-old woman, who has since died. 'I had no right to invade her home, to assault her,' he said. 'I had no right to make her feel unsafe.' Stock image

'In another separate category were numerous images and video of the offender committing penetrative sexual acts upon three different dogs.'

Sellenthin raped the animals in his car, on a bed and outdoors. He closed one dog's jaws with gaffer tape and sometimes wore a condom.

During one act of bestiality he recorded himself telling the animal, 'Good boy'. 

The names of the dogs Sellenthin raped at Byron Bay, Suffolk Park and Bangalow were suppressed to protect the identities of their owners. 

'The offender recalled committing the acts of bestiality upon [two dogs] on multiple occasions,' the statement of facts said. 

'However he stated that he only committed one act of bestiality upon [another dog] as he offended against this dog when it unexpectedly wandered into his backyard.'

Further videos showed Sellenthin wearing the underwear he had stolen from women and girls. 

Sellenthin's recorded interview with police had to cover so much offending it took more than two days to complete.

'The offender explained that he targeted residential homes in Byron Bay and surrounding suburbs at night,' the statement of facts said.

The names of the dogs Sellenthin raped at Byron Bay, Suffolk Park and Bangalow were supressed to protect the identities of their owners. Byron Bay is pictured

'On occasion he targeted female customers from his general maintenance/lawn mowing business, however more often than not the victims were unknown to him.

'His objective was to covertly photograph and film unsuspecting females through uncovered windows involved in intimate acts, using the toilet or getting dressed.'

Sellenthin would usually position himself in the backyard of the target premises or in the yard of an adjoining home. 

If an opportunity presented itself he would steal women's underwear from the clothes line. If he found an unlocked door or window he would enter the home. 

Some of Sellenthin's nocturnal covert filming was conducted at holiday rental accommodation and many of the women he preyed upon have never been identified. 

'The offender conceded that his victims would have been horrified and felt extremely violated should they have been aware of his offending,' the statement of facts said. 

Sellenthin was a lawn mower in Bangalow (pictured) on the NSW north coast. Some of his victims were customers but most were strangers he found while out prowling 

Last Friday in the NSW District Court Judge John North sentenced Sellenthin to a maximum 16 years with a non-parole period of 12 years.

'The catalogue of criminality is staggering,' Judge North said. 'All of these offences are motivated by the offender's deviant sexual arousal.' 

Sellenthin said he was 'disgusted' by his crimes. 

Judge North described the assaults on the 'extremely frail' 91-year-old woman as callous, brazen, gratuitous and 'committed for deviant sexual pleasure'.

'For each of the victims the circumstances would have been traumatic and frightening and for many very embarrassing,' Judge North said.

Judge North found Sellenthin's filming of children while they were naked particularly abhorrent. 

'These children were meant to enjoy the safety and privacy of their own homes,' he said. 

Sellenthin has been bashed in custody and is now under protection. He is being held at Shortland Correctional Centre within the Cessnock prison complex in the Hunter Valley

Sellenthin pleaded guilty to 83 offences including five counts of bestiality, one of aggravated sexual assault and ten counts of aggravated indecent assault. A further 82 offences were taken into account. 

The pervert could not explain his sexual interest in animals but said drug use had contributed to his behaviour.

'I'm disgusted just thinking about how my life got to that point,' he said. 'I think with the right services and programs I will not re-offend. I want it to stop.'

Judge North described Sellenthin's voyeuristic offending as habitual, determined and disturbing.

'I cannot accept the defence submission that the offences over this many years did not involve planning,' he found.

'It is difficult to accept he has real insight into remorse.' 

Sellenthin had told the court he was 'deeply sorry' for the attacks on the 91-year-old woman, who has since died.

'I had no right to invade her home, to assault her,' he said. 'I had no right to make her feel unsafe.'

Crown prosecutor Joshua Hanna had said Sellenthin was 'impulsive' and that 'no one' was safe from him even when inside their own homes.

'He's spent 12 years of his adult life involved in sexual offending,' Mr Hanna said. 'During this time, no woman or child in his area was safe.

'He will potentially be a lifelong risk to the community. Children of both sexes, animals, the elderly… there is such a wide range of aberrant desires here.'

Sellenthin, who wept during his sentencing, has been in prison since his arrest in November 2017 and is in protective custody. His earliest possible release date is November 21, 2029.

Judge John North sentenced Sellenthin to a minimum 12 years in the Downing Centre court complex (pictured) on Friday. He will be eligible for parole in November 2029