LAKE COUNTY, Fla. — A former Lake County firefighter previously arrested on charges of possession of child porn was arrested again Thursday after being accused of sexually battering a young boy more than a decade ago, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
Lake County deputies arrested Steven Ellis Thursday on two counts of sexual battery and two counts of lewd or lascivious battery. Those charges come three months after he was arrested on charges of possession of child pornography. In that case, he was let out of jail on bail.
The Lake County Fire Department said Ellis was fired after the original charges were filed in July. The department said he’d worked there as a firefighter since 1998.
The new charges come more than a decade after the alleged abuse took place. An arrest report says a child came forward in 2008 accusing Ellis of sexually abusing him when he was 4 or 5 years old. The report says Ellis was not charged at the time, but that the case remained open “pending further corroborating evidence.“
Deputies said another person also came forward with allegations around the same time, but there wasn't enough evidence to press charges in that case either.
The report says the child, now a teenager, spoke with investigators again in July after Ellis was arrested on child porn charges. The report says the statements made by the teen matched the accounts he provided a decade before.
After Ellis' initial arrest, deputies said several people came forward claiming to have been abused by Ellis. Deputies have not stated whether additional charges against Ellis could come in the future.
*WARNING: The following contains graphic and potentially triggering content related to child sex abuse*
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According to the arrest report, the teenager told deputies that when he was 4 or 5 years old Ellis made him put Ellis' penis in his mouth “making the candy come out.”
The teen also described being touched inappropriately by Ellis during the same incident, the report says. The teen said the abuse happened four or five times.
According to the report, the boy said Ellis made him take a bath each time before he took him home.
Deputies said Ellis is being held without bail.
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