WESTPORT — A 72-year-old teacher at Bedford Middle Schools has been charged with sexual assault for allegedly touching a student inappropriately at the school last December.
Arthur Ellis, of Westerly, R.I., was charged April 27 with fourth-degree sexual assault and risk of injury to a child.
Ellis, who taught engineering and design at the middle school, was “immediately” placed on leave from his job Jan. 27 after school officials were informed that a complaint about the incident was filed with police and the state Department of Children and Families, according to Supt. of Schools Thomas Scarice. He has not been allowed on school grounds since then, the superintendent said.
Ellis also coached the Science Olympiad team.
Scarice, who said Thursday he had informed the Bedford community about the arrest, added, “Given the nature of the investigation and the fact that this is also a personnel matter, the district is not at liberty to discuss this matter any further.
“The district has, and will continue to, fully cooperate with the Westport Police Department in any way necessary to support their work,” Scarice said.
Police received a complaint Jan. 27 regarding an incident in which a student reported that Ellis had touched her inappropriately during class.
Based on the detective’s “extensive” investigation of the incident, according to the police report, a warrant for Ellis’ arrest was issued.
Ellis turned himself in April 27 at Police Department headquarters.
He was released after posting $100,000 bond, and is scheduled to be arraigned on the charges May 6 at state Superior Court in Stamford.
I hope that our community will be respectful of the legal process and of everyone involved and refrain from making assumptions based on an allegation. Mr. Ellis is a beloved and deeply respected teacher, coach, mentor and role model for so many students and families. Our family is among many who have had the privilege of knowing him for many years through his coaching of Science Olympiad. We maintain the highest level of regard for and trust in him as a teacher, coach and person.
I concur with Danielle and with the Science Olympiad Community. We also have had the distinct pleasure of knowing Mr. Ellis over many years. He has had an enormously positive impact on MANY MANY students in our community, who he has inspired and encouraged through his love of science and teaching. He has spent countless hours of his own personal time coaching and leading our students, including our daughter. It is not an overstatement to say that he has single handedly changed the trajectory of our daughter’s academic life for the better through his dedication and inspiration and set her on a career path about which she is passionate. He deserves privacy and respect through this unfortunate situation. He maintains our utmost trust and support.
I agree with Danielle and Michelle completely. Mr. Ellis is the kind of teacher everyone admires. He works tirelessly for our students, devotes tremendous time and energy coaching them and inspires them to excel. He has traveled with our Science Olympiads teams on long bus rides, plane trips and hotel overnights for years. There has never been any suggestion of any impropriety or wrongdoing by Mr. Ellis. He deserves our support and faith and my family will continue to trust and believe in him as he has done with his students throughout the years.
I am a Junior at Staples High School and have worked with Mr. Ellis for the past 6 years. I joined the Science Olympiad team as a 6th grader. I was eager to learn and Mr.Ellis taught me. He spent countless hours working with me on my projects and he was nothing but an amazing teacher and role model. I learned so much from him. Over all the hours I spent alone with him from working on projects, playing board games in hotel lobbies before competitions, getting cheered on by him after a great performance, or chatting on bus rides, Mr. Ellis was and is a great coach. I have the utmost respect for him and gratitude for all that he has taught me. The Mr. Ellis I know would never assault a student.
I concur with Danielle, Michele and Tracy completely. Mr. Ellis has had long term relationships with both of my oldest daughters, and we consider him to be a gift to our family. He taught our daughters to believe in their intellectual ability, to try challenging things, and to persist in spite of failure. We too have spent countless hours with Mr. Ellis outside of school at Science Olympiad events, practices, bus rides, hotels and meals. He has never been anything but a perfect gentleman. I could not have asked for a better mentor for my children, and Mr. Ellis has our continued love, respect, gratitude and support.
I’m not drawing any conclusions about the guilt or innocence of this guy. I think it might be a little easier to be respectful of the legal process if the legal process actually punished those found guilty instead of letting them walk after a plea deal or time served. Respect is a two way street and needs to be earned. The legal process continues to fail to apply appropriate punishment to the duly convicted. I always hoped that our community respect the law enough to enforce it but that has not happened and no one ever rallied behind those whose lives were ruined.
I think we should trust our kids when they are brave enough to speak up. I believe the student.
I think we should trust our teachers, I Believe the teacher, he didn’t do it. #FreeEllis
There is no one more deserving of benefit of the doubt and presumption of innocence than Art Ellis. We have known Art for years and trust in him completely. He mentored and supervised both our children on countless evenings and trips for Science Olympiad. The idea that he would assault a student is contrary to everything we know about Art.
My son and daughter had the privilege of having Mr Ellis as their teacher and Science Olympiad coach. We thought he was the most dedicated and inspiring teacher in the school district and made a positive impact on our children’s learning experience and lives. He’s the epitome of what a great teacher looks like, and I’m willing to bet that the entire Science Olympiad community, past and present, would agree.
Common sense should tell us that when one party gets to speak and the other party is silenced, there is an imbalance of justice. I hope the community considers that when reading this press release.
I always thought my daughter and son at the people that might touch them inappropriately could be our youth pastor coaches and leaders uncles and cousins, people that we love from the bottom of our hearts. I did this because I’ve seen over and over again how family friends coaches trusted pastors and priests have been predators. I wanted my children to know to trust their gut and not let their feelings about a person fog their perception. There are multiple parties examining this including our highly trained police department. They investigated and found a reason to arrest. Innocent until proven guilty but there is a process in place.
Mr. Ellis is the kind of teacher that you hope to have for your children. His love of science is inspiring and his dedication to teaching and authentic learning is unparalleled. He has had an enormously positive impact on my three daughters as a teacher, role model, and most significantly, as mentor and coach in Science Olympiad. He has dedicated countless hours both in person and over Zoom during the most isolating days of the pandemic to support my daughter grow her confidence, talent and passion for science through his scientific knowledge and ability to form safe and strong connections with students. Mr. Ellis has our deepest trust and respect.
Many of the Westport community have given their praise for Mr. Ellis (and rightly so he is deserved).
Kids do lie, kids do misinterpret, but let me say this “without a single doubt in anyone’s mind, “we must protect our kids” period, no question at all. This is where the amazing Westport Police officers will do their jobs and investigate this allegation.
I have seen Mr. Ellis interact with students amazingly from the day he arrived at Bedford. Over the many years he’s worked there he was/is an awesome and terrific teacher that put his kids above all else including his health.
Mr. Ellis has a passion for teaching without a doubt, he has come to me many times to let him in the building early so he can finish up a project or get ready for a trip or any number of items he had to work on, Mr. Ellis stayed late so many more nights than I can remember.
He has taken countless students and parents on trips even when he was not feeling 100% up to it, he just drove forward and did what he had to so your kids would show their best work at the many State and National events that they achieved with Mr. Ellis’s help