Two more families are suing Celina Independent School District and middle school coach Caleb Elliott over Elliott’s illicit locker room recording of student athletes while the boys were undressed and showering.
This is the third lawsuit accusing the district of gross negligence for enabling the now-former coach to sexually exploit students in his care, including the two boys identified in the new complaint as Johnny Doe I and II.
In addition to photographing the boys in the locker room using his cell phone, Elliott allegedly directed the Does to perform jumping jacks and burpees while nude in the shower area.
The new lawsuit alleges that Elliott was “banned from entering the boys’ locker room when students were present” during the last school year, but that Celina ISD “took no meaningful steps to ensure Elliott complied.”
At the start of the 2025-26 school year, student athletes noticed that Elliott avoided the locker room when coaches Troy Davis and Chase Martin were present. But when those coaches were absent, “Elliott entered the locker room while boys showered and changed, positioning himself to watch them while nude or changing.”
Several students noticed Elliott holding his phone in the locker room on multiple occasions and suspected he was photographing them.
Yet apparently no other adults ever witnessed Elliott’s predatory behavior, and in any case none reported it to outside authorities.
It fell to the middle school boys victimized by Elliott to report his abusive behavior to police.
William Caleb Elliott is the 26-year-old son of Celina ISD’s celebrated Head Football Coach and Athletic Director Bill Elliott.
Caleb Elliott was a 6th grade teacher and 8th grade coach at Moore Middle School from July 2023 until his three arrests in October and November on state felony charges of invasive visual recording, possession of child sexual abuse material, and sexual performance by a child. A second charge of sexual performance by a child has since been added.
According to arrest warrants, Celina Police Department investigators found 12 images of undressed students in Elliott’s cell phone that were taken in the locker room during school hours. Dates on the images ranged from April 8, 2024, to October 2, 2025.
On November 12, Elliott was indicted by a federal grand jury on eight felony counts of producing child sexual abuse material.
Elliott was allowed to resign following his second arrest. In exchange, he surrendered his teaching certificate.
The two families in the latest lawsuit are represented by the law firm of Zeke Fortenberry, a former child abuse prosecutor with the Collin County district attorney’s office who now represents victims in civil cases.
“As a former crimes against children prosecutor, I have seen lots of terrible things relating to the abuse of children,” Fortenberry told Texas Scorecard. “The fact that Elliott made boys in the locker room perform naked jumping jacks and burpees is terrible. What’s worse is that despite Elliott’s history, Celina ISD did nothing to supervise Elliott’s actions in the locker room, and no Celina ISD employee reported his misconduct.”
Two similar lawsuits have already been filed against Celina ISD and Caleb Elliott.
The first lawsuit, filed in October, now includes 12 victims as plaintiffs.
The second suit includes three victims and also names Bill Elliott, Moore Middle School Principal Allison Ginn, and Superintendent Tom Maglisceau as defendants. Maglisceau placed Bill Elliott and Ginn on paid “non-disciplinary” administrative leave effective October 24, pending completion of the district’s third-party investigation.
All three lawsuits allege the district ignored Caleb Elliott’s prior predation of male students and continued to allow him access to middle school boys—possibly to protect the legacy of Celina ISD’s famed football program.
The new lawsuit also alleges that “at least one Celina ISD employee reported inappropriate behavior by Caleb Elliott toward children, was told the report was not true, and subsequently left the District.”
All the plaintiffs are seeking relief under a new law, passed this year as House Bill 4623, which waives governmental immunity for public schools and abolishes official immunity protections for school employees in certain student sexual abuse cases.
“This is exactly the type of situation the new law was created to address,” said Fortenberry. “When school districts continue to employ teachers who are known to be sexually inappropriate with children, they should be held accountable.”
“I am thankful for the brave boys who have come forward to report Elliott’s crimes, and I am proud to represent them and hold Celina ISD accountable,” he added.
Last week, the Celina Police Department announced it had concluded its criminal investigation into Caleb Elliott.
The Texas attorney general’s office is conducting a separate criminal investigation into potential coverups by district administrators of Elliott’s predatory behavior.
Before he was hired to work at Moore Middle School, Caleb Elliott was a substitute teacher in Celina ISD starting in September 2021 and was a maintenance worker for the district in the summer of 2022, according to his resume from March 2023. Elliott also worked with his father and brother on the Celina High School football coaching staff as a receivers coach.
Elliott also volunteered at First Baptist Church in Celina along with his father and Celina ISD School Board President Jeff Gravley.
After his first two arrests, Elliott was released from jail on $100,000 bonds. Since his third arrest on November 9, he has remained in the Collin County Jail with bond set at $350,000 and is now being held on a federal detainer agreement with the U.S. Marshals.
Celina ISD is one of the first school districts sued under the new Texas law. At least a dozen schools and districts are facing federal or state civil liability lawsuits related to educators sexually abusing students.
Hundreds of Texas school employees have been accused of sex crimes involving students and other children in just the past few years.
Previous reporting on the Celina ISD scandal:
- Celina ISD Coach Charged With Invasive Visual Recording of Middle Schoolers
- Celina ISD Middle School Coach Faces New Child Porn Charge
- Celina ISD Lets Coach Resign After Locker Room Recording Scandal
- Victims of Locker Room Recording Scandal Sue Celina ISD for Cover-up
- Lawmaker Calls for State to Investigate Celina ISD Scandal
- Celina ISD Faces Criminal Investigation Over Claimed Coverup of Coach Preying on Boys
- State Rep. Mitch Little Calls for Transparency in Celina ISD Sexual Abuse Scandal
- More Families Sue Celina ISD Over Locker Room Recording Scandal
- Celina ISD Coach Faces Third Arrest as More Families Join Lawsuit
- Celina ISD Coach Hit With Federal Child Exploitation Charges
- Celina Police Department Concludes Criminal Investigation Into Caleb Elliott
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