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Flomaton Football Star Tony Ellis Arrested For Sexual Abuse Of 12-Year-Old
February 11, 2009
Flomaton High School football star Tony Ellis has been arrested on multiple sexual abuse charges involving a minor.
Ellis, 18, was arrested Tuesday on charges of sexual abuse, criminal enticement and sodomy. Authorities are not releasing many more details, but the alleged victim was 12 years old.
Ellis was released on a $150,000 bond late Tuesday. If convicted on the charges, Ellis could face to up 10 years behind bars.
He was indicted last week by an Escambia County (Ala.) grand jury, and he was picked up by Escambia County (Ala.) deputies shortly after school ended Tuesday.
His high school career included at least 1,500 rushing yards per year for each of the last three years at Flomaton. Ellis, who is 5-foot-9, had over 5,000 rushing yards in his high school career with the Canes.
Comments
57 Responses to “Flomaton Football Star Tony Ellis Arrested For Sexual Abuse Of 12-Year-Old”
“For those who believe, no proof is necessary. For those who don’t believe, no proof is possible.”
Stuart Chase
just someone..
what in the world makes you say that this is all the girls fault? seriously.. do you know this girl personally? NO.. im pretty sure you dont.. did she come to you and confide in you by telling you she wasnt telling the truth? i feel like the answer to that one is no also…
And when you say ‘i have never met you before’.. are you talking about Tony? so let me get this straight.. you NEVER met mr tony ellis… but you are SOOO sure that this child (the victim of this horrible crime i might add) is the one in the wrong? WOW.. what is this world coming to?
Let me just say I too was a victim of sexual assault. The one thing i was most scared was that no one would believe me. But lukely i had a great family and a great community behind me. and of course his family didnt think i was teling the truth. what parents, friends, family would want to believe that. IT HAPPENS! This isnt the 17th century anymore. I dont know the girl or the guy what-so-ever but i am praying for the truth to come out. if this girl is telling the truth her life will never be the same. i am 24 years old and this happend to me when i was a child and i still havent recovered. its so sad that the familes are going through this. but i do not think its fair to blame the girl just because you THINK or have a HUNCH she is a liar.
Well I have never met you before but all I have to say is that this girl is doing this all for the attention. Supposedly something didn’t happen that she wanted so she decided to do something stupid. She is taking away a lot of great things from him because of the allegations she is making and all I can the truth will come out eventually and I hope its a better ending for you Tony. You deserve for this to be over with and get on with your life and some of the things that I have been taken away from you because of the situation is just wrong and hopefully when you are proven innocent you will get it all back and given an apology by the people. I really do hope that you didn’t do this because from what I know you are a great guy and had a lot of things going for you and know you don’t want to see it all taken away. I hope she comes forward with the truth because if not she will regret it later. If that was my daughter I would expect her to tell the truth and not do this just to hurt someone.
Wow. What a mob. This is why rape is so under reported. Blame the victim mentality. He was indicted by a grand jury that doesn’t happen with no evidence. Is he guilty? I don’t know and neither do the rest of you.
BGA, It doesn’t matter if the 12 year old had been with 1,000 men before. She, or he, is a child and Tony is an adult. It’s always wrong for adults to have sex with children.
anonymous: I agree with you 100 per cent !
This is no more than a he said/she said situation. If I am not mistaken, we still live in a country where you are innocent until proven guilty!!
For those of you who are not aware of this fact, a grand jury can indict WITHOUT any physical evidence being presented. A person can be indicted on rape charges with no DNA or any other type of evidence against them. Any minor can state that he/she was raped (or any other form of sexual abuse) by an adult and that adult could be indicted on only the word of an alledged victim. The grand jury in this case was presented with NO evidence, only the fact that this alledged victim confided in an employee at her school that she had sex with Tony. This is no more than a he said/she said situation. If I am not mistaken, we still live in a country where you are innocent until proven guilty!!
One thing about time, it reveals all things.There is nothing hidden that won’t be uncovered. If the young girl is lying, the truth will be unfolded. If the young man is lying the truth will be unfolded..God Help All Parties Involved
If this was a set for Tony it will all come out sooner or later and someone will be in trouble …….
We Love ya Tony
I absolutely am not excusing or condoning this type of behavior. I was simply stating that teenagers are wired differently than adults. My heart goes out to the victim of this alleged crime and her family.
You have this community behind u. We as ur family know u r a good person. I am so sorry that somone wanted to boost their self image at ur expence. U hold ur head up high with pride. We will always be proud of what u have acomplished at Flomaton High.
And to all the people that have renderd tony guilty already, will u be making a comment when he is found innocent? Will the news cover that and give him something positive back that these ignorant people have taken away?
Chuck, you have to be kidding, right? Do you really think it’s typical for 18 or 19 yr. olds to be fooling around with 12 yr. olds. You must have grown up in a different world than I did. That’s been against the law for as long as I can remember, and I’ve been around a long time. Yes, we all did some stupid things growing up, but to call this typical is preposterous.
Please people , Tony is a typical teenager who’s hormones rule his world. Try to remember when you were his age and thought that you were invincible and that life would be forever. I did so many stupid things that it’s a wonder that I’m still here. From abusing parents cars running up and down the roads to doing dares from your wild buddies to chasing girls at all hours, being a teenager wears out a soul. Tony will get his day to sort this out and whatever happens, he will learn from it as have we all from our past mistakes.
to ily — the article does not say a word about his grades.
I have thought and prayed about this situation all week…And debated on if i were even goin to write something on here……&& each article i have read if it be on the computer or any of the newspapers I seem to get angrier & angrier!! Personally I think that all of this is screwed up! I have been friends with Tony for a long time and he really has a GREAT head on his shoulders, and I dont think that he deserves to go through this. He has been an awesome person that has just stuck out in Flomaton High School, I do go to school with Tony see him every day not bothering anyone. Our principal has tought us to take “PRIDE” in ourself and OUR school, I don’t know what exactly tony goes through at home BUT i do know that he has an AMAZING school, that he can’t let down!! The articles that I have been reading have unset me about the whole thing, I do understand that you have to put what happened (the charges) but it is unnecessary to relate to his grades(which is personal) or football records. He did a really brave thing Wed. just by showing up at school, even if he had to leave, he does want to keeping his education going for the better!!! We love you Tony, everyone is praying for you && your family && close friends! (FIGHT THROUGH THIS STORM) YOU ARE STILL A HURRICANE!!
To an observer:
I have a 13 year old, and I believe what everyone is saying is that we need to pay more attention to our children. It is our responsibility as parents to protect our children, and you see too often today children of this age running wild. From my understanding this allegedly happened later at night…… A 12 year old “doing whatever with whoever” at night, sorry I don’t feel a 12 year old should be out unsupervised at this time. So I hope that any 12 year old isn’t out “doing whatever with whoever” and the parents are responsible enough to make sure their children are protected form things like this. It is the responsibility of the parent being the child is a MINOR, that is the point of them having guardians. I am a working mother and do not provide day care for my 13 year old but there are ways you can go about protecting your child from things like this. As for the male in this case, yes there is obviously some evidence whether it is he said she said or other types, and if he did this he should be and will be prosecuted. Any man should know better than to take advantage of a child. I just hope that parents wake up and think that maybe if this 12 year old would have been at home where she belongs this could have been prevented. That is not to take anything away from the crime that may have been committed. both families are in my prayers.
Did anyone bother to read the rules for posting comments on this website?
I am embarrassed that so many people don’t know how to spell or form complete sentences.
There must have been some DNA evidence in order to charge him with a crime…and no one can argue with that….it doesn’t really matter what any of us think or say….if it happened, as others have said, it’s 2 lives ruined. Yes, if he did it, he ruined his own life. IF it happened, hopefully the “little” girl that it happened to, may eventually have it fade from her memory, but I highly doubt it. Think about the families though before you say anything, they certainly weren;t involved. As far as the person posting about parents not knowing where their 12 year old child every minute of every day….what world do you live in? Certainly not the one I do…I think most parents both work full time jobs and can’t afford daycare, so kids are left at home to do whatever with whoever…..and they go all over neighborhoods…just ride around one day and take a look. It’s a sad situation either way you look at it…he’s been accused and it’s all over the paper and the news…if it isn’t true, it will be proven in court, but how embarrassing for him (if he’s innocent)
good job mod, that really didn’t need to be there, did it?
1. He is 18 and she is 12. Why are some people making a 12 year old be accountable for her actions and not an 18 year old for his. In the eyes of the law and I am sure in his own, he is an adult. It doesnt matter how many guys she has been with if any…. He is 18 and he should know better!
2. uuuuu is correct. There were enough facts to indict Tony.
3. For all of you saying that you know Tony and you are refusing to believe this, I feel sorry for your naivety. He is an 18 year old guy with hormones that maybe made a bad decision. People make mistakes but two mistakes dont make a right… Dont be naive about it. Open your eyes to the possibility to the fact it MIGHT have happened. And stand by your friend if it did. And dont make excuses for him or his actions. He is 18 and a grown man.
4. And as for the comments of this being a set up, there were enough facts for the grand jury to indict him. Have a little faith in your country’s justice system.
First of all,I don’t know any of the parties involved.Second, I have heard rumors around town. Third, have you heard of innocent until proven guilty? Wait for the trial, hopefully, the truth will come out. My prayers are with both families because I’m sure it’ s tough for both sides.
William, you do an outstanding job with the news. I don’t live in Florida, but I read northescambia daily. If I remember correctly, you also inform on news in the Atmore area. I don’t recall anyone being especially upset about your reporting that information (i.e. casino, board meetings, citizen of the year, etc.). Just because the news in upsetting to some does not make it unnewsworthy. Keep doing what you are doing. Northescambia is a great web site.
To a student. I’m glad I don’t have a daughter at that school, if they are all that loose.
I don’t really know Tony that well but I can tell you that Tony didn’t do all the things that people said he did. I mean it’s Tony we’re talking about he could have any girl at school that he wanted, why would he go and rape a 12 year old girl. All I can say is that before anyone states a story, get your facts right.
This is rediculous. I am friends with both parties involved. I know there are facts behind the GRAND JURY’s decision. It’s sad that people can bash out on a 12 year old! You don’t know what you’re doing to this little girl and her family. I suggest that people stop running their mouthes about all of it and stick to the facts. Some of you will keep on and cross the wrong person!
More deflection and misdirection by the supporters of Tony: blame the 12 year old and her parents. I’m appalled that folks would stoop so low. Nobody takes responsibility for his or her own actions anymore because it’s always someone else’s fault. Let’s put the shoe on the other foot and ask where were the parents of this 18 year old? Do they hold any responsibility in their son’s “questionable actions?” Shouldn’t they have know what their son is doing and with whom? Maybe if they were more knowledgeable of Tony’s extra curricular activities, they could have prevented this tragedy.
this is definately not true tony would never do anything like that weve known tony for a really long time and we know that he isnt the person that the news is making him out to be..personally i think the girl is lying because she doesnt want to admit to her parents thats shes giving it up to everybody..anyways we love u tony and we will be praying for the best in all this mess.
a lot of GOOD people have done wrong things in this world. I do HOPE this isn’t true, but if it is, a lot of people are apparently going to be shocked.
I’m a mother of a 12 year old myself and for the life of me I can’t understand what parent would let their 12 year old hang around someone of Tony’s age. What do they have in common? Parents need to open their eyes and realize that the age difference does have a big influence. Its different for a 12 year old boy to look up to Tony and want to be a great football player such as he is, but hanging out with him is so much more for a boy or girl. There are some strange things going on and the truth will come out. Tony has brought himself into a situation that could have been avoided. Seniors don’t have any business hanging out with 12 year olds!!! Wake up parents before its to late! Your child can be influenced or exposed to so much!
WELL FOR STARTERS EVERYONE THAT HAS SOMETHING BAD TO SAY ABOUT TONY NEEDS TO SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP!! IF THE GIRL WOULDNT HAVE TOLD HIM LIES THEN NONE OF THIS WOULD HAVE EVER STARTED!! AND NO WE ARENT GOING TO STOP STICKING UP FOR HIM WHEN WE KNOW HE DIDNT DO IT! TONY HAS A GOOD LIFE A HEAD OF HIM YALL NEED TO LEAVE THIS BOY ALONG AND LET HIM GET ON WITH HIS LIFE!! TONY WOULD NEVER HURT A FLY! WHERE WAS THE GIRLS PARENTS OR GUARDIANS AT THE TIME THAT ALL OF THIS WAS GOIN ON? SEE SHE NEEDED TO BE AT HOME PLAYIN WITH DOLLS NOT RUNNIN AROUND ACTIN LIKE SHE IS GROWN!!!! BUT LIKE I SAID EVERYONE HAS YOUR BACK TONY DONT GIVE UP!! WE ALL ARE HERE FOR U WHEN U NEED US!! ALL OF THE SENIORS AT FLOMATON ARE GOIN TO BE HERE FOR U!!
LOVE YA TONY,
HEIDI
Why should this not be reported? It’s the news!! Just because he is your friend and you don’t think he has done anything wrong does not make it any less newsworthy. And you say wait until after a verdict is rendered, that’s ridiculous. This site is doing a great service for the community. I commend NorthEscambia.com for reporting the facts. I live in South Alabama and read NE.com almost everyday for the local news. Keep up the good reporting, and I’ll keep reading!
The accused is 18, so he is an adult. Just because he is an athlete he shouldn’t be handled any differently than any other adult. O J Simpson was a star athlete and he got away with his crimes,for awhile, anyway.
Tony is a senior in high school very good kid
Yes David you are right like i said BUT is a big word… i think this should not of went around the world untile Tony was found guilty if guilty or not guilty then put it out to the world……. good old Flomaton and century news its sad …… yes if Tony done this,,,, then he will have to pay (IF )he didnt he is still runed for life he would never get over this…………
I sure hope Tony can prove alot of people wrong………….. I feel like Colby…. THIS COULD BE A SET UP who knows it might not BUT !!!!!! is a biggggggggggggggggggggg word
we love you TONY !
What kind of parents do not know where their 12 year old daughter is at ALL times?
Shaun…
NorthEscambia.com ran this story for several reasons:
1) We often cover the “big” news stories out of Flomaton
2) We covered every Flomaton High School football game this past fall, including Mr. Ellis’ great accomplishments on the field.
3) We continued to cover Mr. Ellis with stories when he was a finalist for a state award
4) We are the area’s number one local daily news source, and we have a lot of readers in Flomaton.
5) This very much met the criteria of “big” story from Flomaton…it has, admittedly hours after it first ran on NorthEscambia.com and WEAR-TV, been covered by newspapers and television stations all over the Southeastern United States. While we were among the first, we are one of just dozens to report the story.
As for criticism that we did not print the facts…those are the facts in the story. A grand jury issued an indictment, he was charged and arrested. The way our legal system works, the young girl’s allegations and her identity would be sealed in the indictment. Those are not facts available for printing.
Regardless of whether Mr. Ellis is found guilty or innocent, the items mentioned in the story (the indictment, the arrest, the charges) will still be facts. We will, of course, run a story if the charges should be dropped, or when the court issues a ruling in the matter.
BGA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! A 12 YEAR OLD IS A 12 YEAR OLD, IF SHE WAS INVOLDED WITH SOMEONE ELSE THAT IS A CRIME TOO. IF THIS IS TRUE THEN SOMEONE ELSE TOOK ADVANTAGE OF THIS CHILD.
I’m just curious, how old is Tony?
Personally..I feel all this is a load of crap. Tony is sooo close to my family and me and I know he wouldn’t do anything like this. Anyone who really knows tony, knows he wouldn’t do this. It’s crazy. It’s ruining his life, future, career, family, and friends. He had everything going for him and one stupid rumor has made it all come crashing down. I don’t care what anyone says..my brother is innocent. We love you Tony.
This is sad.. Hope the truth is revealed whether he be innocent or not. But My question is why is North Escambia printing stories out of Flomaton? I know its your site William and hopwever you chose to run it is solely up to you, but I thought this was just Molino, McDavid, Walnut Hill and Century? Perhaps this would keep down the criticism of you not printing the facts?
this aint true. tony hasnt done anything wrong. he hasnt done anything with this little girl its all bull crap and it has messed his life up. i kno tony..hes practically my brother and i kno he wouldnt do anything like this. its all a big set up.
i DONT CARE WHAT NOBODY SAYS i KNO TONY DiDNT DO THiS!
“He was indicted last week by an Escambia County (Ala.) grand jury”
Usually when a grand jury indictes there is concrete evidence. Get an attorney!
someone — northescambia has printed the facts. He was indicted on several charges, arrested and made bail. That’s about as factual as it gets.
This is a tragic story for all involved. Apparently there is enough evidence for the Grand Jury to return an indictment against Tony, but an indictment does not mean he is guity of anything. We live in The USA, and everyone is innocent until proven guilty. He will have his day in court to prove that he did nothing wrong, if thats the case. But why discount the girl if all the facts aren’t public knowledge. There are two sides to every story. I hope, for Tony’s sake, that he did nothing wrong, But if it comes out that he actually committed this crime, and it is a crime, then I will have no sympathy for him. But until he stands before a judge and jury, it’s all speculation, as only he and the girl know what really happened.
i think that northescambia should print the facts an not wats false an let everyone form there own opinion about wats goin on with tony
May the truth be revealed and any lies exposed.
Whether it’s true or not, what a shame this is!! Two young lives ruined & two families humiliated & turned upside down. Regardless of how this turns out, it’s hard not to have compassion & sympathy for BOTH of these families. Both families will feel the devastating effects of this horrible situation for many years & possibly for the rest of their lives!
However, in the eyes of the law, he is an adult capable of making decisions. The victim, however, is a minor & is protected under the law. This is our responsibility–to protect the children in our communities. I pray most of all for the truth to be revealed–Tony’s innocence to be shouted from the rooftops & his name cleared if he’s innocent OR for him to be prosecuted if he’s guilty. This should remain our desire—the truth, not assumptions based on his or the victim’s characters. At this time, we must all believe in our justice system & trust it to work as it was designed to work.
I know Tony and I know that he would never do anything like this. I think that it is just little girls saying stuff without thinking of what it has done to his life. Because of these accusations Tony can not even live his normal everyday life. But this little girl can make assumptions without her face being put on the front of newspapers and repeated on the news every five minutes, unlike Tony. I think that it ashame how everybody went about this and assumed that he did it. He had a good dependable name and now he can do nothing to get that back. I am here to support you Tony.
I pray that this is not true. I do not know Tony, but have read football articles about him and would hope he wouldn’t throw all of that away. My main concern is to the parents of the 12 year old, I have a 13 year old daughter and cannot think of a time she is left alone with a guy to participate in these acts. From talking to my daughter I have learned that there are so many CHILDREN at this age having sex. My question is to all parents, Do you know where your CHILD is? I know where mine is. I think most parents these days are not as active in their child’s life. I mean seriously, what is a 12 year old doing alone with boys anyway. If Tony Ellis did do this he should be punished because he should know better, but I think as parents we need to look around and think “what could I do to prevent this from happening to my child” I know as a child I was not allowed to go with friends unsupervised much less boys… Just a thought for everyone… Know where your children are and who they are with. Things like this happen because of parents who are not involved……
YOU’RE A GREAT GUY TONY!! KEEP YOUR HEAD UP AND KEEP THE FAITH! EVERYTHING WILL WORK ITSELF OUT AND ALL OF THIS WILL BE OVER…..HOPEFULLY SOON! KEEP YOUR HEAD UP!
none of this is true at all all this is ruining his carrer big time for something he didnt even do i mean any girl could walk up and say hey he did this to me. he has so much to look forwad to in life and this lie is just bringing him down. tony is a great person i know cuz i have grown up with him and he is like my brother he has done nothing wrong so we will just wait and pray that he dont get charged with somthing he didnt do
Well for starts, this boy has been my son for a while now. I know who he is. And this crap that these people r saying is just unbelievable. It all starts with this little girl wanting to be popular. And well, what better way than to say she was with Tony. And its just not her its other ignorant people that tend to just say hey he is so guilty for certain. This could completly ruin this young mans life. I dont think anyone stoped to think of this at the time. With no evidence to state that any of this is true so many ignorant people are willing to convict already. Well just to let these people know, they r gonna have a hard row to hoe right along with this great young man. He has this community behind him. So many people r behind Tony and will do what whatever it takes to not let him be railroaded. We love him and support him. He will go far in life despite the people that want to hold him back. Ur momas love u boy.
i hope it is not true.. i use to look up to you ..i hope you didnt you never know
BGA… You’re way out of line by attempting to blame the victim. The evidence was presented to a Grand Jury of our peers and they returned the charges, so there is almost without error that these horrific charges are warranted.
OMG I hope this is not True! I hope this isn’t a set up for Tony! …….. If Tony has been with the 12 yr old thats a shame ……BUT they need to see who all the 12 yr old has been with other than Tony, he might not of been the first guy……. Lord i hope this is all wrong!!!!!!!!!!!! but this is 2009 you never know
I hope it’s not true.
What a waste of 2 young lives