In what could prove to be a ground-breaking case, three Moore Middle School families have sued Celina Independent School District for gross negligence for enabling Coach Caleb Elliott’s illicit locker room recording of student athletes while the boys were undressed and showering.
The lawsuit alleges the district was not only aware of Elliott’s criminal predation of young boys, but deliberately covered it up—possibly to protect the legacy of Celina ISD’s famed football program.
William Caleb Elliott is the 26-year-old son of Celina ISD’s longtime Head Football Coach and Athletic Director Bill Elliott.
The complaint lauds Bill Elliott as “a Celina hero” and calls the Celina Bobcats football team “the lynchpin of the city.”
The lawsuit, which also names Caleb Elliott as a defendant, cites two past crimes the younger coach committed involving Celina students: starting a “relationship” with a male student at the high school, where Elliott was working at the time, and getting caught placing cameras in the middle school boys’ locker room.
Plaintiffs allege Celina ISD officials knew about both crimes but kept them quiet and continued to employ Caleb Elliott, allowing him access to the boys he is now charged with victimizing.
The victims’ families are seeking justice from Celina ISD 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.
The law holds school districts liable for an employee’s sexual misconduct or failure to report child abuse if the district is found grossly negligent or reckless in hiring, supervising, or employing the staff member.
Previously, school districts and administrators could claim immunity from civil liability in such cases—even as they stated publicly that student safety is their highest priority.
Accusations Against Coach Caleb Elliott and Celina ISD
Celina police first arrested Caleb Elliott on October 3 for invasive visual recording in the Moore Middle School boys’ locker room.
Elliott was arrested again on October 9 for possession of child sexual abuse material after police found nude photos and videos of multiple male student athletes on Elliott’s cellphone. Parents say more than 30 boys were victims of Elliott’s illicit locker room recordings.
Caleb Elliott graduated from Celina High School in 2018, where he played varsity football under his father’s coaching. According to Elliott’s resume, he graduated from the University of North Texas in 2022. During 2021 and 2022, he worked in Celina ISD as a substitute teacher and a maintenance worker.
After college, he continued substitute teaching at Celina High School while joining his father’s coaching staff as a receivers coach for the high school football team.
Elliott moved to Moore Middle School in the 2023-24 school year.
The lawsuit alleges Elliott was reassigned following the discovery of his exploitation of a male Celina High School student.
“Instead of firing Elliott upon discovery of the improper and unlawful relationship, Celina ISD moves Elliott across the Parkway to Moore Middle School in the summer of 2023 as an eight-grade coach and sixth-grade Social Studies teacher,” the lawsuit states.
Under Texas law, it’s a second-degree felony for educators to engage in “romantic” or sexual relationships with a student, regardless of the student’s age.
The student graduated in 2024 and was hired this school year as a special education aide at Moore, but he later disappeared from the staff roster and appears to no longer be employed at the school. He was listed as Caleb Elliott’s “significant other” when the coach was held in the Collin County Jail after his first arrest.
Texas Scorecard submitted a media inquiry to Celina ISD regarding the former student/employee but was instructed to file a public information request, which has not yet been fulfilled.
Elliott’s alleged “improper relationship” was never reported to the Texas Education Agency, and he was allowed to continue working with young male athletes.
“In fact, it would be Defendant Elliott’s introduction to the middle school boys’ locker room that created a new ‘enduring legacy’ for Celina,” the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit also alleges that Elliott was caught during the 2024-25 school year placing cameras in the Moore Middle School locker room that captured images of the boys undressed, resulting in the coach being banned from the locker room.
According to the petition, Elliott’s excuse was that “he did not know it was illegal and was trying to deter theft. Defendant Celina ISD simply mailed apology letters to select parents of victims but, beyond that, continued to harbor a child predator.”
At the start of this school year, Elliott worked under two other coaches: Boys Athletic Coordinator Troy Davis and Middle School Football Coach Chase Martin.
The plaintiffs state that nothing was communicated to the eighth-grade team, but the boys noticed that Elliott did not come into the locker room except when he knew Davis and Martin had retired to the coaches’ office.
“When the coast was clear, Elliott would enter the boys’ locker room,” the petition states.
Locker Room Recording Scandal
Beginning in September, the boys noticed Elliott standing around the locker room and staring as they undressed and showered, often holding his cellphone with the camera pointed toward the students.
A parent of one of the boys told Texas Scorecard that Elliott would attempt to hide his phone when other adults entered the area.
Plaintiffs allege that Elliott took one of the boy’s backpacks and said he had to “do jumping jacks fully nude” to get it back. The boy complied, while Elliott “watched the child’s penis.”
That’s when the boys began to suspect that Elliott was “doing more than looking: that he was, in fact, imaging (photographing and/or videotaping) the boys with his smartphone.”
On the morning of October 3, a student saw Elliott “unmistakably and intentionally” capturing multiple images on his cellphone of the boys’ nude buttocks and genitals.
Students then went to the office of Principal Allison Ginn to report Elliott’s activities, and the school informed the Celina Police Department, which obtained a search warrant to seize Elliott’s cellphone at Moore Middle School. Police executed the warrant that afternoon and arrested Elliott that evening.
Elliott was released from jail the next day on a $100,000 bond. After going through Elliott’s phone and finding images of students, police arrested the coach a second time. He was released again on another $100,000 bond.
The plaintiffs assert that Elliott took advantage of his position as a coach to sexually exploit young students, causing the boys severe emotional distress.
“Elliott sought to be, and was, entrusted with the safety of young boys ex officio his position as coach, and violated that trust for the shortsighted and selfish purpose of his own arousal and sexual gratification.”
The plaintiffs also assert that Celina ISD was grossly negligent for failing to take any preventative measures after learning of Elliott’s past crimes, subjecting students to his further criminal misconduct.
“As a direct and proximate result of Defendants’ gross negligence and intentional conduct, respectively, Plaintiffs have sustained bodily injuries and incurred expenses for the necessary medical care of those injuries and in reasonable probability will incur future medical expenses.”
The plaintiffs seek monetary damages in excess of $1 million. The new law allows courts to award damages of up to $500,000 for each claimant.
District Response
Celina ISD Superintendent Tom Maglisceau notified Moore Middle School families on October 3 of Caleb Elliott’s first arrest.
On October 9, Maglisceau notified all Celina ISD families of Elliott’s second arrest. He also stated that the district had retained “independent third-party attorney” Giana Ortiz to “review this matter.”
Maglisceau said Ortiz would begin “immediately to conduct an investigation into District hiring practices, job responsibilities, District operations, and related questions.”
The superintendent himself made decisions about an investigation of his administration, not the school board, as trustees did not meet from the time of Elliott’s arrest until Maglisceau’s announcement of Ortiz’s hiring.
Trustees called a special meeting on October 16 to consider dismissing Caleb Elliott. Instead, Maglisceau announced that Elliott had tendered his resignation and “as a condition of accepting his resignation, the district facilitated the surrender of his teaching certificate with the Texas Education Agency.” As of October 23, Elliott’s teaching certificate remains valid but is “under review” by the TEA.
Several victims’ parents spoke at the school board meeting and called on trustees to investigate fully, find the truth, and hold accountable any administrators who had knowledge of or were part of Elliott’s crimes—up to and including Athletic Director Bill Elliott.
Bill Elliott also spoke at the special meeting. He told the crowd that he was sorry for what happened, but that only “one person”—his son Caleb—is responsible.
During a regular board meeting on Monday night, several parents spoke again about the scandal and what trustees should do to address it. One victim’s father said he believed that Bill Elliott should keep coaching the Celina Bobcats but should step down at the end of the season if it’s found that he knew about Caleb’s criminal activities.
The Celina Bobcats are in the middle of a 7-0 football season and hold first place in their district. The team went undefeated last year and were state champions.
After learning about the lawsuit filed Wednesday, a Celina mom commented online that she “felt compassion” when she saw Bill Elliot speak about still loving his son.
“Now it’s clear they were just getting ahead of this information,” she wrote. “It is UNCONSCIONABLE.”
She added that “without hesitation” Superintendent Tom Maglisceau and Coach Bill Elliott should be “fired and investigated,” along with anyone else who engaged in the coverup.
“We must not tolerate our kids’ safety being violated because of who the adults are.”
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