Assailant Receives 35-Year Prison Term In Sex Attack

By Andrew Gorosko

DANBURY — A nocturnal burglar who was convicted in May of brutally beating and attempting to sexually assault a Newtown woman in her home in January 2005 has been sentenced to 35 years in state prison on three felony convictions.

On July 20, Judge Carl Schuman sentenced Kenneth Martin Sells, 42, formerly of Stratford, to an effective 35-year prison term for convictions on first-degree burglary, criminal attempt to commit first degree sexual assault, and second degree assault.

Sells had been found guilty of those three charges at a May jury trial. The six-member jury found Sells not guilty of a fourth charge of first degree sexual assault.

In early January 2005, Sells and another man had delivered a washing machine to the middle-aged victim’s Georges Hill Road home, during which time Sells made certain statements and asked questions that made the woman feel uncomfortable, according to court papers. The legal papers identify the woman as “Jane Doe.”

According to the redacted court papers, about 2:30 am on January 15, 2005, about one week after he had delivered the washing machine to her house, Sells burglarized the woman’s home in seeking to sexually assault her. The woman, who was home alone at the time, has since moved away from the residence.

After entering the building through a faulty ground-level sliding-glass door, Sells walked upstairs to the woman’s bedroom and attempted to compel the woman to have sexual intercourse with him, but the woman strongly resisted.

During the incident, Sells broke a bone in the woman’s face, cut her scalp, pulled out a clump of her hair, and struck the woman’s head with blunt force in a bloody brutal fight, the court papers state.

Police received an Emergency 911 call from the victim, who was trying to alert them of the attack. No one spoke during the call, which was hung up. On calling back, police received a busy signal. 

Police electronically determined the call’s point of origin and then sent three officers to the scene. Sells had left the residence in a vehicle just before police arrived.

The woman’s resistance to Sells’ attack limited the injuries that she potentially could have received, police have said. Such illegal nighttime intrusions into homes are rare locally. Georges Hill Road connects Butterfield Road to Pond Brook Road, near the Brookfield town line.

Following the attack, the woman, who had a bloodied and swollen face, was transported to Danbury Hospital, where she was treated for her multiple injuries and then released, according to police.

In investigating the case, police collected fingernail scrapings from the victim and compared their genetic composition to DNA samples that were later taken from Sells in linking Sells to the crime. Police arrested Sells two months after the attack.

Following the violent incident, town police and state police worked through the day collecting physical evidence at the scene and also conducted interviews. During their investigation, police executed several search and seizure warrants for Sells’ person, for his automobile, and for cellular telephone records.

After his arrest, Sells was held on $200,000 bail in Bridgeport Correctional Center. He never posted bail.

Assistant State’s Attorney David Shannon prosecuted the case in court. Newtown Police Detective Jason Frank investigated.