Houston park ranger accused of targeting gay men in parks appears in court on new sexual assault and abuse of office charges

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) – New charges are pending against a Houston park ranger accused of luring gay men to the park, sexually assaulting them and robbing them. Officials say more victims have come forward.

Two new charges were filed against 33-year-old Joey Lamar Ellis, who appeared in court Monday morning. He now faces a total of three charges: one for sexual assault and two for abuse of office.

The allegations against him came to light in June when he allegedly forced a man to strip naked in Cullen Park. At the time, he was only charged with one count of abuse of office.

In the June incident, the alleged victim, Joshua Beede, told ABC13 he was sleeping in his car when Ellis, wearing a parking attendant uniform, knocked on his window. Beede said Ellis threatened to arrest him if he didn't give him his cash or remove his clothes and made it clear he had a gun in his pocket.

ORIGINAL REPORT: Houston park ranger allegedly targeted gay men in Cullen Park for money

Ellis also allegedly asked Beede to use a dating app to lure other men to the park so they could be robbed as well. Eventually, Beede said, he gave Ellis money and waited until he left to call 911.

“I was scared for my life and did everything he said,” Beede explained. “But he knew what he was doing. He's probably done it before. He didn't look nervous.”

ABC13 spoke to the district attorney about the case after Monday's court hearing.

“We had one indictment, and it was against a single plaintiff,” said Assistant District Attorney Kimberly Smith. “Since then, more victims have come forward and we are so grateful to them because without their courage – without their courage – none of this would have been possible.”

Smith said it is believed there are more victims and that more charges will be brought against Ellis.

“He shows up in these parks where he's not supposed to be working. But he shows up in these other locations where he finds a single male or maybe two males, approaches them and forces them to either perform sexual acts or give him money,” Smith added. “We believe this defendant is targeting these individuals because of their … sexuality.”

SEE PREVIOUS STORY: Houston park ranger accused of targeting gay men appears in court, which grants him $30,000 bail

Shortly after the alleged incident in June, the Houston Parks and Recreation Department confirmed that it had been notified of the park ranger's arrest and issued the following statement:

“The Houston Parks and Recreation Department has been notified of the arrest of Urban Park Ranger Joey Ellis. The department has placed him off duty for the time being and the public can be assured that appropriate action will be taken while HPD investigates.”

A judge set bail for the new sexual assault charge at $75,000 and for each additional abuse of office charge at $60,000, for a total of $195,000.

Ellis had reportedly been free on bail since the initial indictment, but prosecutors received a tip that he was with his family in Louisiana, where he was barred from going due to bail conditions.

The judge ruled that he could move to Louisiana to be with his family, but would be placed under house arrest there.