Herz Law Takes on Mantle of Investigator as Celina PD Washes Hands of Case, Clears ISD

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:
Paul Herz
Herz Law
(214) 745-4567
paul@herzlaw.com

Dallas (November 21, 2025)—Herz Law and the victim families it represents were deeply disappointed in the announcement at a press conference Tuesday by the Celina police chief that the Department was closing its investigation into the allegations of cell phone recording in the locker room by William Caleb Elliott before ever having looked into important questions of leadership and child safety at the school that allowed the insidious incidents to develop in the first place, and may allow them to recur.

Elliott was the assistant football coach at Moore Middle School, Celina, Texas, on October 3 when he was caught, after many occasions, recording young boys nude and bathing in the locker room on his phone. Plaintiffs, the twelve families of young boys made victims by Elliott, filed a lawsuit in October against Elliott and his employer, Celina ISD.^[1] Plaintiffs alleged Elliott’s recording and voyeurism, but also, making one child perform jumping jacks naked. Elliott has been arrested in Texas on suspicion of invasive visual recording,^[2] possession of child pornography,^[3] and sexual performance by a child.^[4] A federal grand jury has indicted Elliott for sexual exploitation of children. Plaintiffs alleged that the ISD was grossly negligent in employing Elliott, having been aware of a prior teacher-student relationship when Elliott worked at the high school, as well as a previous recording incident in the middle school locker room, allowing them to hold the school responsible under a new law, H.B. 4623.^[5]

On Tuesday, November 18, the Celina Police Department convened a press conference to announce the close of the criminal investigation related to Elliott. The subject matter and timing of the conference was unusual on its face. It is not common practice for police departments to hold a press conference to announce no further findings or action. It is more unusual for a police department to do so less than two months into an investigation. In response to pointed questioning, the police chief admitted that the investigation entirely excluded what Celina PD considered the “business of the school district,” such as whether Elliott had been previously banned from the locker room due to a prior incident. The chief also admitted that the extent of Celina PD’s investigation into whether Elliott had previously been in an illegal teacher–student relationship known to the ISD was to ask the alleged former student for an interview and consider that matter closed when the former student’s attorney refused.

Bill Elliott, the ISD’s famous football coach, is currently on paid non-disciplinary leave while the school district continues its own internal investigation.^[6] The police department’s announcement and answers contorted themselves to deny any criminal suspicion of Bill Elliott, school staff, or board members. This despite zero investigation into what the Department considered the district’s “business” and the criminal penalties for failure to report child abuse by a mandatory reporter (i.e., teachers).^[7]

Herz Law and the families of the victims in this case can say nothing more than to voice their disappointment in the lack of depth of Celina PD’s investigation. Many Celina families agreed to have their children interview with the police, causing the young boys to relive the traumatic events of this case. To have the police close their case without looking beyond Caleb Elliott, curiously parroting comments made by Bill Elliott in October that “only one person” was responsible for what occurred at Moore Middle School, is totally unacceptable.

The Department’s hasty closure of the case does not serve justice, give the victims closure, or lend the community confidence in the safety of its school system. What it accomplishes, however, is to give the school district cause to reconsider Bill Elliott’s suspension as he is so sorely needed to head the football team through playoffs. Whether this was the Department’s intent is irrelevant—it is the effect of its decision, and it lays bare its priorities.

Nevertheless, in its announcement, the Department also acknowledged that it had a limited number of complainants come forward, and that it would await the results of the depositions taken in the civil cases related to the Celina ISD recordings. A silver lining of its announcement, Herz Law sees this as a deputization of the plaintiffs’ counsel in the various civil suits to investigate further criminal culpability that endangered the children of Celina. Herz Law will take on this responsibility in addition to its existing mandate to seek truth on behalf of the victims.

Herz Law is a Plaintiff’s personal injury trial law firm in Dallas, Texas, in business for 32 years, run by Jill Herz, Harry Herz, and Paul Herz. Herz Law sues on catastrophic injuries, sexual abuse, invasion of privacy, and more, and has represented thousands of clients. For additional information, call Herz Law at 214-745-4567.

Visit https://herzlaw.com/celina/ for filings, press releases, and case updates.