DA: Seeking ‘life without the possibility of parole’
Published 4:17 pm Friday, January 18, 2013
Statement from Tom Anderson, District Attorney, 12th Judicial Circuit
A few moments ago a Pike Co. Jury returned verdicts of GUILTY in two counts
of Rape 1st Degree and 1 count of Burglary 2nd against Andre Ellis of Troy. The case
involved the brutal attacks of two young ladies residing in the Hunter’s Mountain Trailer
Park on March 26th, 2012.
As District Attorney, I am proud of the efforts and job done by Assistant District
Attorneys, Scherryl Harrison and Chris Kaminski and the staff of the District Attorney’s
office.
I am especially proud and grateful for the response and effort put into this case by
the Troy Police Department, the detective division in its entirety and in particular, case
agents, Sergeant Brian McLendon and Lieutenant Lee Barnes. These officers spared no
effort in investigating, identifying and apprehending Andre Ellis.
Most importantly, I want to thank and praise the two victims and their families for
their patience and diligence in bringing this vicious criminal to justice. Those young
ladies, so brutally violated, came forward to report their attacks and stood strong
throughout the process to regain power and control from their attacker, Andre Ellis.
We, in the criminal justice system, need the victims of sexual assaults to report
these crimes and testify and so that we may make every effort to restore to them their
dignity and deter future crimes. Statistics are overwhelming that a tremendous number of
rape victims never tell anyone about their attack and even higher numbers never report it
to police.
The Bureau of Justice Statistics reports that the majority of rapes and sexual
assaults perpetrated against women and girls in the United States… were not reported
to the police. Only 36 percent of rapes, 34 percent of attempted rapes, and 26 percent of
sexual assaults were reported.
A sentencing date will be set by Judge Kelly in the near future. The District
Attorney’s office will be seeking a “Life, Without the Possibility of Parole” in the two
Rape cases and Life in the Burglary 2nd Case.