The woman accusing State Representative Brian Ellis of sexual assault has reportedly filed a formal complaint with the Pennsylvania House of Representatives calling for his removal from office.
The Philadelphia Inquirer– which was the first publication to report the accusations against Ellis back in January- published a report Tuesday detailing the complaint.
The Harrisburg law firm Myers, Brier & Kelly is representing Ellis- they issued a statement calling the allegations “just plain false.”
“This anonymous complaint was prepared by the accuser’s hired agents—and then instantly given to numerous media outlets—for one cynical reason: to generate sensational press coverage. The accuser’s latest self-serving repackaging of the 2015 allegations are just plain false,” according to the firm.
This statement was the first to come from Ellis since the allegations were first made. The lawmaker has not personally commented at all.
House Republican leaders also aren’t commenting on the complaint, or confirming that one has actually been filed. Mike Straub, press secretary to the PA House Majority Leader, points to House Rule 3E which states: “No person shall disclose or acknowledge to any other person any information relating to the filing of a complaint or the proposed filing of a complaint, except as otherwise authorized under this rule or Rule 2.1 E, for the purpose of seeking legal advice, as otherwise required by law or to carry out a function of the Committee.”
Following the initial allegations, House Republican leaders did call on Ellis to resign, and they suspended him of his committee chairmanship pending the outcome of a criminal investigation.
In the five-page alleged complaint, the victim offered more details into the alleged assault. She said it occurred after she went to a Harrisburg bar with a friend in 2015 and had fewer than two drinks. The next morning she claims she woke up with a head injury and naked, according to the paper.
Ellis- of Butler Township- has taken leave for each legislative session since the accusations and has not responded publicly.
