A former Kentucky teacher’s aide admitted that she had sex with “numerous” teenage boys while working at an elementary school, officials said.
Ellen Phillips, 38, pleaded guilty in federal court in Lexington on Friday to attempting online to entice a minor to engage in sexual conduct, prosecutors in the Eastern District of Kentucky announced.
His victims were boys between the ages of 14 and 16 from Boyle and Garrard Counties— and he would sometimes have sex with multiple boys at the same time, according to the plea agreement.
He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.
As part of his plea deal, Phillips, formerly of Ellen Shell, admitted specifically trying to convince a 15-year-old boy to sneak out of his home to have sex on December 22, 2022.
He messaged the victim on Facebook and repeatedly tried to get her out of his home, prosecutors said.
When the boy tells her she can’t leave, he offers her alcohol and oral sex if she can sneak out.
Ellen Phillips faces life in prison for having sex with multiple teenagers. Garrard County Sheriff’s Department
Phillips, of Danville, even offered her the excuse that she could tell her mother why she had to leave the house, prosecutors said. He ended up not seeing the teacher’s assistant that night.
He would communicate with his other victims via Snapchat, Facebook and text messages to meet them for sex.
One of the victim’s mothers, who did not want to be named, told FOX 56 that she went to high school with Phillips and their children grew up together.
“These boys don’t know the laws that protect them and won’t come forward because they think they’ll get in trouble,” said the distressed mother.
His son told him that “he brought them alcohol 3 to 4 times. I can’t imagine the extent of what he did,” he added.
He was finally arrested in April 2023 when two minors came forward and said he had raped them on three separate occasions between July 6 and August 15, 2022, when they were both 16 years old.
Phillips was initially charged in state court, where he still faces multiple third-degree sodomy and third-degree rape charges in Boyle, Garrard and Rockcastle counties, according to The Lexington Herald Leader.
Chief US District Judge Danny C. Reeves scheduled his federal sentencing for April 26. He faces a minimum of 10 years behind bars and a maximum of life in prison.
State prosecutors will consider dropping charges as a result of Phillips’ federal guilty plea.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
