Man arrested for child luring at Horizon Middle School

A man was arrested Tuesday evening after he apparently tried to lure a young girl away from a softball game at Horizon Middle School in Spokane Valley.

A 9-year-old girl told deputies that the man kept shouting “Hey baby, come here” at her and gestured for her to come to him. When she did not he walked toward her, but was confronted by her father as she ran away toward her mother, according to court documents. She referred to him as “the creepy guy” when speaking to deputies and said she was afraid he was coming after her, court documents state.

The girl and her parents said the man then attempted to play catch with some younger children near the field, but their parents called them away. The man, identified as Jacob J. Ellison, told the girl’s father that he was there to meet his daughter. As he walked away he appeared to be “prowling near the parking lot and fields looking for children,” the father told deputies.

The father also said that when he confronted him, Ellison reached for something in his waistband that resembled the butt of a gun, according to court records.

The mother of a 14-year-old boy told deputies that she had met Ellison at an estate sale earlier in the week and that he took an interest in her son. She said Ellison stopped by her work around 5 p.m. Tuesday looking for her son and she told him that her son was playing baseball. She said Ellison then walked to Horizon Middle School and she called Crime Check to report him as a suspicious person because she thought he was trying to find her son, according to court documents.

When deputies spoke to Ellison, he first said that he was there to see his son play but then said he was there to meet his ex-wife and daughter but said he couldn’t remember his ex-wife’s name, according to court documents. Ellison reportedly said he thought the 9-year-old was his daughter and appeared nervous as he denied touching her, court documents said.

Ellison, who was wanted on warrants for malicious mischief, money laundering and assault, was arrested on suspicion of child luring.

After he was arrested Ellison allegedly struck another inmate in a holding cell at the Spokane County Jail, according to Sheriff’s Office spokesman Deputy Mark Gregory. Several inmates in the cell were making fun of Ellison because of his charges and he reportedly became angry and hit one in the mouth with his elbow, Gregory said. The assault victim’s tooth was broken.

Ellison is now facing an additional charge of fourth-degree assault.