Boys testify in Scout abuse case

MOSCOW, Idaho – Two teenagers testified Tuesday they were repeatedly molested at a Boy Scout camp by a Washington state man who would enter their tent at night during the summer of 2007.

The 16-year-olds said in 2nd District Court that Timothy Andrew Kellis, 38, visited their tent at the Camp Grizzly Boy Scout camp in Harvard, Idaho, where Kellis was the director of shooting sports.

Kellis has pleaded not guilty in 2nd District Court to nine counts of lewd conduct, one count of attempted lewd conduct, and two counts of sexual abuse of a child.

He could face life in prison and more than $250,000 in fines if convicted. A former high school band director from Tumwater, Wash., Kellis is being held at the Latah County Jail in Moscow on a $200,000 bond.

“At night, he (Kellis) would come into the tent and start touching me in inappropriate places,”  “Scout 1” told the jury of four women and 10 men, the Lewiston Tribune reported. “The first time, I didn’t really know what to do.”

“Scout 2” said the abuse involved oral sex and attempted anal sex.

“I didn’t really do anything because it’s not something you can prepare yourself for,” Scout 2 said. “I was kind of in shock.”

The two Scouts said they shared a tent for part of the summer and that Kellis molested one while the other slept. They said neither was aware the other was being abused until months later when they began to talk about it.

Kellis’ attorney, Sunil Ramalingam, asked jurors to wait until Kellis testifies before making decisions.

Ramalingam said Kellis decided to fight the allegations rather than “curl up and die.”

Kellis was an assistant marching band director at Clarkston (Wash.) High School from 1995 to 2006. Idaho State Police say he also worked as a teacher at Highland High School in Craigmont, Idaho, from 2001 to 2006.