U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani says that Joey Lamar Ellis has been nationally charged with abusing his power as a city urban park ranger by stopping, detaining, and assaulting park visitors late at night.
Ellis, who is 34 years old, was charged by a federal grand jury on December 3 with 20 counts of violating the civil rights of eight people.
Ellis is accused of using a city-owned car to stop people from leaving park parking places and taking their cell phones or driver’s licenses. He allegedly lied about what the victims did, saying they did different crimes and threatening to arrest them or tow their cars away.
According to the indictment, Ellis reportedly asked for money or, in some cases, assaulted or forced people to have sexual acts they didn’t want to have so they could avoid being towed or charged and arrested. Some of these actions were groping, making one victim take off all of their clothes, and sexually abusing another. Ellis is accused of using his gun to scare several people and telling at least one of them not to tell anyone.
“The indictment accuses Ellis of leveraging his authority to intimidate victims, demanding money or, in more disturbing instances, forcing them into unwanted sexual acts,” Hamdani said. “This alleged breach of public trust underscores the horror of those using their power for alleged unlawful gains, leaving communities questioning the integrity of their protectors.”
The study was done by the FBI and the Houston Police Department. The case is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sharad Khandelwal and Rebekah Saunders.
Anyone who thinks they may have been a victim or knows someone who was should fill out the FBI’s online form for Seeking Victims or call the FBI Houston Field Office at 713-693-5000.
Source: Ex-Houston park ranger federally indicted for sexual assault, extortion of park visitors
