According to court documents, a grand jury on Tuesday arrested and indicted an urban park ranger on 20 federal offenses for allegedly abusing his position of authority by extorting and sexually assaulting multiple individuals around Houston parks.
The FBI began a federal civil rights investigation into Joey Lamar Ellis earlier this year, alleging that Ellis targeted members of the LGBTQIA+ community. Ellis is accused of using his official position to intimidate park visitors and demand money in exchange for their release, and prosecutors have been looking for victims of this crime on an ongoing basis.
According to officials, at least eight of Ellis’ victims have accused him of violating their civil rights.
Ellis was charged with 15 counts of deprivation of rights under color of law, three charges of displaying a firearm, and two counts of witness tampering, according to federal court filings.
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According to the Department of Justice, color of law offenses happen when any elected official, police enforcement official, or government official uses their authority to deny someone a right guaranteed by the US Constitution or statutes.
Ellis was taken into custody earlier this year on upgraded sexual assault and official oppression allegations brought by the state.
Ellis’s attorney in state court, Ryan Fremuth, stated on Tuesday that Ellis has persisted in claiming his innocence.
“The FBI released the statement a few months ago, so we knew something was coming eventually,” Fremuth added. It was surprising that they did something today. Since the beginning, he has stated that he has not done this.
According to Fremuth, it ought to have been a standard courtroom conversation where we discussed some of the case’s facts and unresolved evidence. He currently has two charge batches. In March, my case will be reopened, and we will keep working to have the charges dropped.
Ellis allegedly parked his city-owned vehicles behind his victims’ cars to keep them from driving away. He allegedly accused them of crimes, seized their licenses or cell phones, and then offered them a way out of being towed or detained.
Ellis is accused of using his gun to threaten his victims on a few different instances. According to the justice department, prosecutors claimed Ellis forced victims to strip naked and sexually assault another in order to obtain money or to perform sexual acts.
According to the indictment, Ellis used his power to coerce victims into paying him money or, in more horrifying cases, committing unwelcome sexual acts, according to a statement from U.S. Attorney Alamdar Hamdani.
Communities are beginning to doubt the honesty of their guardians as a result of this purported betrayal of public confidence, which highlights the horror of those abusing their position of authority for purportedly illegal purposes, according to Hamdani.
Ellis was scheduled to appear before a U.S. Magistrate Judge for the first time at 2:00 p.m.
Individuals who suspect Ellis of sexual assault or extortion are urged to contact authorities by completing an online form on the FBI website.
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