Man who used dating app to meet 12-year-old Fresno child is sentenced to prison
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- James Ellis was sentenced to eight years in prison for sexually assaulting a 12-year-old.
- Ellis pleaded no contest to oral copulation and sexual penetration with a foreign object.
- The judge ordered a protective order and required Ellis to register as a sex offender.
An Oregon man was sentenced Wednesday to eight years in prison for sexually assaulting a 12-year-old Fresno girl he met on a dating app.
James Ellis, 53, was arrested in 2024 and charged with multiple counts of sexual assault involving a minor he was communicating with on the Grindr app. Police said Ellis arranged to meet the minor in a Fresno parking lot, where he assaulted her.
Ellis, who also rents a home in Fresno, pleaded no contest to one count of oral copulation and one count of sexual penetration with a foreign object.
His defense attorney Jon Renge tried to convince Superior Court Judge Stephanie Negin to sentence Ellis to probation and therapy. He also said Ellis’ chances of becoming a repeat offender are low, based on a mental health evaluation of his client.
Renge repeated his client’s argument that he was not aware the child was 12.
“He thought she was of age when he met her on Grindr because there is an age requirement to be on that app,” Renge said. “She also sent Mr. Ellis photos of her smoking marijuana.”
Ellis spoke to the judge briefly, saying he takes full responsibility for what happened and that the incident was disgusting and horrible. He added that he is not a child predator or a pedophile.
Prosecutor David Devencenzi told the judge he disagreed with nearly everything Ellis and his attorney said in court except for calling the incident “disgusting.”
Devencenzi added there is no way Ellis did not believe she was a minor. She even told him that during their conversations.
Ellis also tried to escape in his truck after the girl’s grandfather tracked her down by her phone. He fled, Devencenzi said, because he knew he got caught with a 12-year-old.
Negin also was not convinced that Ellis didn’t know the girl was a minor. She pointed out that some of the defense’s arguments bordered on victim shaming.
“To believe that she was 18 is not plausible,” Negin said.
The judge sentenced Ellis to a total of eight years and issued a protective order for the victim. She also ordered that Ellis register as a sex offender.
