State Rep. Mitch Little is representing 17 victims who accused Celina ISD coach of recording students in the locker room.
By Angela Mathew
Dallas Morning News
https://www.dallasnews.com/
Azul Sordo / Staff Photographer
State Rep. Mitch Little, R-Lewisville, accused the Celina Police Department of being negligent after the department’s investigation concluded that Celina ISD had no knowledge that middle school football coach William “Caleb” Elliott was allegedly recording boys in the locker room.
“Celina Police Department has stopped their investigation where they wanted to and not necessarily where the evidence would lead them,” Little said at a Wednesday news conference at the Collin County courthouse.
State Rep. Mitch Little, R-Lewisville, accused the Celina Police Department of being negligent after the department’s investigation concluded that Celina ISD had no knowledge that middle school football coach William “Caleb” Elliott was allegedly recording boys in the locker room.
“Celina Police Department has stopped their investigation where they wanted to and not necessarily where the evidence would lead them,” Little said at a Wednesday news conference at the Collin County courthouse.
A representative for Celina ISD said the third-party investigator is working to complete her investigation as soon as possible, and the district does not intend to interfere with it.
“Contrary to the statements made at the press conference today, it remains the District’s intention to be thorough and transparent throughout this process with the independent third party investigator, Celina PD and/or other law enforcement,” a spokesperson for Celina ISD’s communications department said in a statement Wednesday evening.
Celina ISD Superintendent Thomas Albert Maglisceau said in a statement last month that the district only became aware of Elliott’s alleged misconduct when Celina police arrested him Oct. 3 on charges of possession of child pornography.
Previous lawsuits allege that a Celina ISD employee notified district leadership about Elliot allegedly recording middle schoolers in the locker room, but no action was taken, and the employee eventually left the district. Plaintiffs have also claimed the district was aware that Elliot allegedly pursued a romantic relationship with a student when he worked as an assistant football coach at Celina High School and subsequently moved him to Moore Middle School.
At Wednesday’s news conference, Little and the attorneys representing the victims said they were concerned that Elliott may have shared photos and videos of the middle schoolers he coached using the social media platform Snapchat. Federal and state law enforcement have subpoenaed Snapchat to provide photos and videos in relation to the case. It is unclear to whom Elliott might have sent images.
“The hope was that … the photos and videos of these children was contained to Caleb Elliott on his phone and his iPad,” Little said. “We’re increasingly learning that that was not the case, that they may have been transmitted to other person[s]. Who knows if they were sold, if they were traded, if they were given away. It’s disgusting.”
Angela Mathew is a reporter covering Collin County on the local government accountability team. Her primary coverage focuses on the cities of Frisco and Allen. Angela grew up in Mumbai, India, and graduated from the University of Notre Dame.
This story, originally published in The Dallas Morning News, is reprinted as part of a collaborative partnership between The Dallas Morning News and Texas Metro News. The partnership seeks to boost coverage of Dallas’ communities of color, particularly in southern Dallas.
