Washoe County District Attorney Chris Hicks announces that a Reno man has been sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty to Battery with Intent to Commit Sexual Assault – Victim is an Older Person and Attempted Sexual Assault with the Use of a Deadly Weapon. Bill Ellis (dob 11/27/96) will be eligible for parole after serving 20 years.
Ellis was arrested last December following two separate attacks against women at local casinos. In the first attack, the defendant entered the employee area and corned a 63-year-old casino employee in a hallway. Ellis then aggressively groped the victim before two other employees arrived to help and he ran off. Officers with the Reno Police Department were able to obtain surveillance video of Ellis following the victim and the attack.
Approximately 1 hour after the first attack, police were dispatched to a neighboring casino where a second victim had been assaulted by the same defendant. The second woman had seen Ellis go into a women’s restroom, so she waited outside. After believing he had left, the woman entered a stall. The defendant then slid under the door into the bathroom stall that she was in and held a knife to the woman’s neck while threatening to stab her. He then began kissing the woman and attempted to make her perform a sexual act. In an effort to get Ellis to leave the bathroom, the victim was able to convince Ellis that they should go back to her hotel room. The two began walking through the hotel and after reaching the top of the escalator, the woman was thrown to the ground and Ellis attempted to sexually assault her. A passerby heard the victim screaming for help and came to assist, causing Ellis to again run away. Later that same day, officers located Ellis, who was in possession of a pocket knife, and placed him under arrest.
During sentencing, Deputy District Attorney Darcy Cameron argued for a life sentence, citing that the trauma inflicted upon the two separate victims was unthinkable and the defendant posed a significant danger to the community. The Honorable Judge Lynne Jones presided and imposed the sentence.
