Attorneys in one of the ongoing civil lawsuits against Celina ISD and a former teacher and coach, Caleb Elliott, held a news conference in McKinney Wednesday morning to announce they are filing another suit on behalf of 17 victims.

Elliott was a teacher and football coach at Moore Middle School and is facing state and federal charges for allegedly photographing and recording boys in the locker room while they were changing. Celina police said last week they had identified 39 victims.

The new legal action is the fourth civil lawsuit over Elliott's alleged abuse. It claims that Celina ISD ignored repeated warning signs about Elliott's behavior and continued to allow him unsupervised access to students.

Without citing detailed evidence, the lawsuit claims that as far back as three years ago, Elliott allegedly had a sexual relationship with an underage student while he was working at Celina High School. 

The suit alleges that Celina ISD quietly moved Elliott to Moore Middle School to protect the image of its championship high school football program, where his father, Bill Elliott, is the head coach. 

Lawyers blast school district, police department for handling of investigation

In the news conference, state Rep. Mitch Little, who is one of the lawyers representing the plaintiffs, said they have learned of a confrontation between Elliott and another coach at Moore Middle School over previous attempts Elliott allegedly made to record students in the locker room, and that others were aware as well.  

"Every red flag in this case was met with a green light," attorney Jack Walker said. "This is a systemic failure by the school district to stop a known predator from preying on our children. We believe that these 17 families should find justice and hold this school district accountable for these egregious acts, this conscious indifference to their safety and their welfare and a complete breach of their trust."

The lawyers also criticized the Celina Police Department's handling of the case. Last month, the police chief said the department concluded the investigation, which found that Elliott was the only person who committed a crime. Little said that conclusion was reached too soon.

"If I were operating the investigation at the police department, I would want to interview the people who were aware of this confrontation of Caleb Elliott when it occurred. The witnesses that are known who were there when it happened, there's obviously a lot more to find out," Little said.

Snapchat subpoenaed in criminal case

Little also revealed that they have learned that law enforcement has issued subpoenas to Snapchat regarding whether Elliott sent any of the photos or videos to others.

"For families that are trying to seek justice, it is going to be difficult for us to know, fully, who has their hands on the photos and videos taken of these children," Little said.

Athletic department "run like a fifedom"

The attorneys said Elliott's job was protected by his father's status within Celina ISD. 

Caleb Elliott's father, Bill Elliott, is the district's athletic director and the longtime coach of Celina High School's football team. His tenure includes a state championship in 2024. 

"The athletic department at Celina was apparently increasingly siloed and functioning as a fiefdom, in some ways not accountable to administration or the school district itself," Little said.

Bill Elliott and Moore Middle School's principal are on leave while the school district and Texas Education Agency (TEA) investigate the allegations.

Celina ISD says investigations are ongoing and transparent

Celina ISD said it learned about Little's new conference and the new lawsuit against the district on Wednesday.

"Contrary to the statements made at the press conference today, it remains the District's intention to be thorough and transparent throughout this process with the independent third-party investigator, Celina PD and/or other law enforcement, the Texas Education Agency, and the Celina ISD community," the district said in a statement.  

The district said it "promptly forwarded" the new class action lawsuit and information to the independent third-party investigator and Celina PD for their investigations.

Celina ISD said the district has every intention of ensuring a thorough investigation is conducted and the third-party investigator is working diligently. 

"The District continues to request CPD / law enforcement investigate all claims related to any potential criminal action by Caleb Elliott or any other past or current employee of Celina ISD," it said in a statement.

The district said the findings will be provided to the TEA.