Bail set at $100,000 for Centralia man accused of sexually abusing a child under 16 in January

By Emily Fitzgerald / [email protected]

A Centralia man accused of sexually abusing a child under the age of 16 in January was remanded in custody on $100,000 bail Tuesday after complying with a summons to appear for a preliminary hearing on felony charges filed in Lewis County Superior Court.

The Lewis County District Attorney's Office filed three counts of sexual assault against 46-year-old Joseph Thomas Ellis on August 14 and sent him a summons the same day to appear for a preliminary hearing on August 27, which he attended.

While the prosecution and defense agreed to release Thomas on bail for the duration of his trial, Lewis County Superior Court Judge Joely Yeager said the threat to public safety posed by Ellis' alleged crimes justified bail.

“I don't really understand the request for a subpoena,” Yeager said Tuesday. “These allegations are extremely troubling.”

Washington state law requires courts to issue subpoenas instead of warrants unless the court has reasonable grounds to believe that the defendant will fail to comply with a subpoena, will commit a violent crime, or will interfere with witnesses or obstruct the administration of justice.

The reason the Lewis County District Attorney's Office requested a subpoena rather than an arrest warrant in the Thomas case was likely because Ellis had no criminal record and the allegations were several months old, Assistant District Attorney Joe Bassetti told Yeager on Tuesday.

The victim's mother reported the sexual assault to the Lewis County Sheriff's Office on Jan. 20 after an officer was dispatched to Providence St. Peter Hospital in Olympia to pick up the victim's sex offender kit, court documents state.

Ellis is accused of sexually abusing the victim while the victim and other children were staying at his home over the weekend of Jan. 5, court documents state. The children stayed overnight at Ellis' apartment several times after the first assault.

The victim's mother reported that the victim “explained that she didn't tell her sooner because she didn't want to make her cry,” and stated “that this had happened more than once and she just kept going over to protect the other children,” according to court documents.

Ellis' release conditions include a stipulation prohibiting him from having any contact with minors, including his eight-year-old daughter.

Defense attorney Rachael Tiller asked Yeager to grant an exception to the condition so that Ellis could have contact with his daughter, which Yeager refused.

Ellis's arraignment is scheduled for Thursday, September 5.