Authority & Access · Week of November 23–29, 2025

Federal prosecutors and local police describe Elliott, 26, as a former Celina ISD teacher and football coach who allegedly coerced numerous boys into sexually explicit conduct in 2025 in order to produce images and videos. A federal grand jury indicted him on seven counts of production of child pornography and one count of attempted production; local authorities later announced an additional charge of sexual performance of a child.

According to Celina police and court documents summarized by local coverage, Elliott allegedly recorded boys in the locker room at Moore Middle School and coerced at least one student into performing nude exercises to get his backpack back. A recent police update states that the number of alleged victims has risen to 39, and he remains in custody. Multiple families have also filed civil lawsuits against Celina ISD alleging that the district failed to supervise him and effectively concealed prior concerns.

Liggett, in his early 40s, was arrested on child-seduction charges out of St. Joseph County, Indiana. Court documents reported by local outlets allege he began grooming a girl around 2015 when he served as an academic dean at Mary Daly Elementary School in Elkhart, and that the child later became his foster and then adopted daughter. The alleged sexual abuse is said to have occurred over several years in the context of that foster/adoptive relationship.

At the time of his arrest, Liggett was serving as vice-principal of Mars Elementary in Berrien Springs, Michigan. Berrien Springs Public Schools stated that the charges do not involve Mars students and that he has been removed from campus, but the case raises concerns about how district hiring and information-sharing operate across state lines and between districts.

Smith, 30, a former substitute middle-school teacher, was sentenced to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty in September to two counts of sexual contact with a student and one count of first-degree endangering the welfare of a child. Prosecutors alleged that she paid underage students in cash and through payment apps and provided alcohol and marijuana in exchange for sexual acts, sometimes transporting students to her home or other locations.

Earlier charging documents had listed a much larger slate of counts, including statutory rape, trafficking, and sodomy. The plea reduced the charges but still reflects a pattern of exploitation of students over whom she had educational authority. Local reporting notes that the district expressed distress when she was first arrested but does not describe earlier internal discipline prior to criminal charges.

Ortiz, 30, was initially charged with first-degree sexual abuse by a school employee involving an 18-year-old high school student (still a minor under Nebraska law). Court records show the charge was later amended, and she pleaded guilty to attempted sexual abuse by a school employee, a Class 3A felony.

She received 24 months of probation, a $2,000 fine, and conditions including counseling and restrictions on contact with minors. Critically, Ortiz was ordered to register as a sex offender in Nebraska for 25 years. Local reporting does not indicate any prior sex-offense convictions or registry status.

George, about 40, teaches at Hawthorn Academy and also coaches volleyball. She was arrested and booked into jail on multiple counts including attempted rape, forcible sodomy, object rape, forcible sexual abuse, and distributing pornographic material. According to a police affidavit reported by Utah media, a former student, now 15, alleged that George developed a close “mother figure” relationship with him while he was in her 8th grade class and on the team she coached, and that the relationship later became sexual.

The alleged abuse reportedly occurred over several months and included physical sexual acts and sharing of sexual material. West Jordan police describe the investigation as ongoing. Hawthorn Academy has not publicly detailed its internal response beyond confirming her employment.

Padilla, 51, was arrested on a child abuse charge after a student reported that he rubbed her back, shoulder, and across her chest while helping her with an assignment. According to the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office, the investigation began in mid-September 2025; the district removed him from the classroom and reassigned him to a non-student-contact role, then later placed him on administrative leave.

Deputies publicly asked for potential additional victims to contact the sheriff’s office. Coverage focusing on the arrest does not report any prior sex-offense convictions or registry status for Padilla.

Sequeiros, 60, previously taught at Epps Island Elementary (Klein ISD) and Northline Elementary (Houston ISD) and also coached soccer. He is accused of sexually assaulting at least seven students between roughly 2014 and 2019. According to Harris County authorities and subsequent reporting, he allegedly isolated children in his classroom and assaulted them in a classroom closet, threatening them to stay silent.

He had been arrested on similar charges in 2020 and 2021 and released on bond in both cases. Investigators say he fled to Peru in 2023 while still facing charges, and was arrested there in November 2025 after a joint operation involving U.S. Marshals and Peruvian authorities. He has now been returned to Harris County Jail. Reporting notes prior arrests but does not state that he was on a sex-offender registry.

Christofferson, 72, of Dublin, Ohio, was arrested in Utah and charged in federal court with attempting to sexually exploit a minor and coercion and enticement. According to the complaint and news summaries, investigators allege that he abused at least two minors—one in Ohio, one in Utah—through repeated in-person abuse and sexually explicit video calls, and that he used letters and coded language to discuss sexual activity with one victim.

A Project Safe Childhood press release notes that he searched online for whether clergy must report abuse disclosed in confessional-type settings. A detailed timeline compiled by independent researchers and survivor reports describes decades of alleged abuse, an excommunication and later rebaptism, and subsequent priesthood and teaching roles in LDS congregations with access to youth and families.

The Diocese of Laredo announced that it suspended the priestly faculties of Fr. Mares in May 2025 after being informed that the Diocese of Piedras Negras had received an allegation of sexual misconduct with a minor regarding conduct allegedly occurring about 18 years earlier in Mexico. Local reporting indicates that the canonical investigation is being led by the Mexican diocese, which has jurisdiction over the place and time of the alleged abuse.

Laredo's statement says there were no prior accusations against Mares in that diocese, and that both dioceses have notified civil authorities and are following Vatican procedures. No public criminal charging documents were identified as of this week's reporting.

A civil lawsuit filed in Kane County names Chapelstreet Church in Geneva, Illinois (formerly First Baptist Church of Geneva), interim lead pastor Brian Coffey, and former youth leader Don Vanthournout. The plaintiff, identified as John Doe, alleges Vanthournout molested him decades ago at another church. Years later, concerned that Vanthournout was serving as a youth leader at Chapelstreet, Doe says he told Coffey about the earlier abuse.

The suit alleges that Coffey failed to report the disclosure to authorities and that Chapelstreet allowed Vanthournout to continue in positions of leadership and authority in youth and student ministries between roughly 2011 and 2018. During that period, Vanthournout is alleged to have sexually abused another boy whose missionary family stayed with him and attended Chapelstreet. Kane County authorities told reporters they were not aware of anyone from the church reporting the suspected abuse.