Grand jury empaneled in Ellis case Investigation ongoing into sex assault allegations against former state rep.
A grand jury is investigating sexual assault allegations made against former state House Rep. Brian Ellis, according to a report by the Philadelphia Inquirer.
The empaneling of the grand jury was the anticipated next step in Dauphin County District Attorney Fran Chardo's continued investigation into the allegations over the past year.
Ellis, of Butler Township, has denied the allegations but resigned from his position in March, citing it as the best option for his health and family.
A formal complaint was issued against Ellis on March 12 in which the accuser, a female state employee, said he sexually assaulted her in his Harrisburg town home while she was blacked out.
“I woke up in pain, injured and naked, the next morning in the bed of Representative Brian Ellis,” the complaint said.
The woman filed the complaint with the House's lawyers and Ethics Committee.
In the complaint, she said she had refused sexual advances from Ellis in the past, and after the assault, he told her: “We had sex.”
“To my horror, Ellis talked about the sexual encounter he had with me — one I had, and still have, no memory of having happened,” she said in the complaint. “Ellis appeared to be clearly aware of the fact that I could not remember and did not know what had happened the night before, because I was so confused and distraught.”
The woman did not immediately file a report when the assault allegedly occurred in October of 2015, but she went to a hospital the next day.“Like so many others, I did not immediately report what Ellis did to me, because I was traumatized, ashamed, and confused,” the complaint said. “I did not trust the system and I feared what would happen to me professionally and personally if I came forward.”According to the complaint, the woman has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder stemming from the altercation.“I felt powerless,” the complaint said. “Understanding trauma and its effects has helped me cope with my day-to-day life both at work and at home.”In the complaint, the woman asked the House to “rid itself of a member who is not deserving of the public's trust, and remediate the impact of his presence in the workplace.”
