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.
Tagged “celina”
Defendant Celina ISD's Original Answer
Doe Families I—XII v. Celina Indep. Sch. Dist. et al., No. 471-08453-2025 (471st Dist. Ct., Collin County, Tex.).
Celina ISD appeared and answered in our civil suit through its attorney, pleading a general denial of all of Plaintiffs’ allegations, requiring them to prove their case at trial. Tex. R. Civ. P. 83 (Answer), 92 (General Denial). Celina ISD further raised an affirmative defense of governmental immunity for those acts or omissions occurring before the date that the law for suing schools for teacher sexual misconduct became effective, September 1, 2025. See Tex. R. Civ. P. 94; Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code ch. 118.
Federal Criminal Indictment
United States v. William Caleb Elliott, No. 4:25-cr-00226-ALM-BD (E.D. Tex.).
In a separate criminal suit, the United States government presented an indictment to a federal grand jury, which signed and returned the true bill, indicting Caleb Elliott on eight counts of sexual exploitation of children a/k/a production of child pornography or the attempt thereof, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 2251(a) and (e).
In federal criminal practice, a grand jury is 16–23 people, summoned by the court. Fed. R. Crim. P. 6. Grand jury proceedings are secret, and one-sided, where the prosecutor convinces the grand jury to indict the defendant, without the defendant or his attorney present. Id. A criminal defendant is entitled to notice of charges against him, this generally occurs by indictment or information. For a misdemeanor, an information is all that is necessary. Fed. R. Crim. P. 7(a)(2); 58(b)(1). An information is “an accusation…without an indictment…made by a public prosecutor, without the intervention of a grand jury.” U.S. Dep’t of Just., Crim. Res. Manual § 1-499.201 (quoting Information, Black’s Law Dictionary (6th ed. 1990)). A felony, however, must be prosecuted on indictment. Fed. R. Crim. P. 7(a)(1) ; U.S. Const. amend. V. An indictment is “an accusation in writing…originating with a prosecutor and issued by a grand jury…An indictment is referred to as a ‘true bill,’ whereas failure to indict is called a ‘no bill.’” U.S. Dep’t of Just., Crim. Res. Manual § 1-499.201 (quoting Indictment, Black’s Law Dictionary (6th ed. 1990)).
Herz Law’s Celina ISD Suit Leads to Third Arrest of William Caleb Elliott
Minor’s allegation generates arrest warrant on suspicion of inducing sexual performance by a child
Dallas (November 7, 2025)—Herz Law and Bruce Kaye are aware of an additional arrest warrant, believed to be the third, issued against William Caleb Elliott on suspicion of inducing a sexual performance by a child, a second-degree felony. See Tex. Penal Code § 43.25(b). This arrest is a direct product of Plaintiffs’ lawsuit and the allegations therein and would not have occurred without the courage of the young victim involved.
Plaintiffs' First Amended Petition
Doe Families I—XII v. Celina Indep. Sch. Dist. et al., No. 471-08453-2025 (471st Dist. Ct., Collin County, Tex.).
Amending the lawsuit to add nine more families, now twelve total.
Defendant William Caleb Elliott's Original Answer
Doe Families I—XII v. Celina Indep. Sch. Dist. et al., No. 471-08453-2025 (471st Dist. Ct., Collin County, Tex.).
Families File Suit in Celina ISD Locker Room Recording Case
Under new law, public schools accountable for sexual misconduct
Dallas (October 22, 2025)—Herz Law and Bruce Kaye have filed suit in Collin County District Court on behalf of families whose sons attend Moore Middle School in Celina, based on information from police that assistant football coach, William Caleb Elliot, allegedly, secretly captured images of 14- and 15-year-old boys naked in the boys’ locker room.
Plaintiffs' Original Petition
Doe Families I–III v. Celina Indep. Sch. Dist. et al., No. 471-08453-2025 (471st Dist. Ct., Collin County, Tex.).
A Petition by parents from three separate families, as next friends of their three minor children, against Celina ISD and William Caleb Elliott, alleging Elliott’s intrusion upon seclusion and intentional infliction of emotional distress, and alleging the ISD was grossly negligent in hiring, supervising, or employing that professional school employee. This is necessary to overcome governmental immunity under Chapter 118 of the CPRC, enacted by HB 4623. Filed in Collin County District Court to start the lawsuit.
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