David Eller
Encyclopedia
David Barry Eller was a professor
of Religious Studies
and head of the Department of Religious Studies at Elizabethtown College
until his termination
, following his arrest for attempting to meet a minor for sex
in July 2006.
He has been an ordained minister
of the Church of the Brethren
since 1978.
and Pietists groups. He also functioned as director of the The Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies at Elizabethtown College since 1997.
He had been assistant pastor (1965-66) at Long Beach, California
, Church of the Brethren; youth minister in the Methodist Church in San Dimas, California
(1966-67), and part-time pastor of the Deshler Church of the Brethren, Deshler, Ohio
(1977-1982) while at Bluffton College. Eller was ordained in 1978 at the Pleasant View Church of the Brethren in Elida, Ohio
.
Dr. Eller appeared in the July 10, 2006 episode of the PBS
series History Detectives
, discussing alternative service certificates issued to conscientious objectors during World War II
.
, as well as criminal use of a computer.
On June 29, Eller made contact with "angelbaby12pa", not knowing the Yahoo name was registered by undercover agents of the Pennsylvania
Attorney General
's Child Predator Unit. He believed he was talking to a 12-year-old girl, who was about to enter the seventh grade. He started to ask the "youth" questions of a sexual nature. These questions included her sexual history, as well as her bathing suit and tan lines
.
Eller resumed contact on July 17 and July 18. Within his messages, he hinted at the possibility of a face to face meeting, saying: "Learning to know you on chat, and if that works, we set up a meet," he allegedly said. "If we meet, if would be for private fun." Confirming the details on July 19 and July 20, Eller was to meet the fictitious girl in an Ollie's parking lot on Route 22 in Lower Paxton Township
, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania
.
In the late afternoon on July 20, Eller arrived at the location and was taken into custody, by agents from the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Child Predator Unit, and the Lower Paxton Township Police. Eller's arrest was the 56th since the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Child Predator Unit was created in January, 2005. http://www.attorneygeneral.gov/press.aspx?id=1379
After his arraignment, Eller was charged with violating Pennsylvania law with one count of criminal attempted unlawful contact with a minor, a first-degree felony
with a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $20,000 fine. In addition, he was charged with one count of criminal use of a computer, a third-degree felony that carries a maximum penalty of seven years in prison and a $15,000 fine. A warrant
was obtained to search for information in Eller's Elizabethtown College
office computer, a frequent site for Eller's chats.
In a statement released July 21, Elizabethtown College director of college relations, Lori Hixon, said Eller had been placed on administrative leave. Elizabethtown College's press relations office issued a release on July 28 that Eller had been terminated from the college. President Theodore Long
was quoted as saying, "He can no longer serve the college with integrity or effectiveness." Jeffery Long
has subsequently been named head of the Religious Studies Department; Donald Kraybill
has been named interim director of the Young Center.
Eller was held in Dauphin County Prison in lieu of $250,000 bail
. He waived a preliminary hearing and a formal hearing was set for September 21, 2006. Eller was arraigned one day earlier on September 20, 2006. He pled not guilty to charges of attempted unlawful contact with a minor and criminal use of a communication facility. He requested a trial by jury. Eller was scheduled for court on November 21, 2006. Eller requested a continuance, which was granted, and his trial date was postponed until January 17, 2007. Eller's defense asked for a second continuance, which was granted, and his new trial date was set for February 21, 2007. At his trial on February 21, Eller pled guilty to both charges. In order to allow time for a Megan's Law
evaluation of David Eller to occur, sentencing was scheduled for Friday, June 1, 2007.
On June 1, 2007, Judge Scott A. Evans sentenced David Eller to 2.5 - 10 years in state prison, with an additional 5 years of probation thereafter. Eller is serving time in the State Correctional Institution at Waymart in Wayne County, Pennsylvania.
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
of Religious Studies
Religious studies
Religious studies is the academic field of multi-disciplinary, secular study of religious beliefs, behaviors, and institutions. It describes, compares, interprets, and explains religion, emphasizing systematic, historically based, and cross-cultural perspectives.While theology attempts to...
and head of the Department of Religious Studies at Elizabethtown College
Elizabethtown College
Elizabethtown College is a small comprehensive college located in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania in Lancaster County. The school was founded in 1899 by members of the Church of the Brethren...
until his termination
Termination of employment
-Involuntary termination:Involuntary termination is the employee's departure at the hands of the employer. There are two basic types of involuntary termination, known often as being "fired" and "laid off." To be fired, as opposed to being laid off, is generally thought of to be the employee's...
, following his arrest for attempting to meet a minor for sex
Sex
In biology, sex is a process of combining and mixing genetic traits, often resulting in the specialization of organisms into a male or female variety . Sexual reproduction involves combining specialized cells to form offspring that inherit traits from both parents...
in July 2006.
He has been an ordained minister
Minister of religion
In Christian churches, a minister is someone who is authorized by a church or religious organization to perform functions such as teaching of beliefs; leading services such as weddings, baptisms or funerals; or otherwise providing spiritual guidance to the community...
of the Church of the Brethren
Church of the Brethren
The Church of the Brethren is a Christian denomination originating from the Schwarzenau Brethren organized in 1708 by eight persons led by Alexander Mack, in Schwarzenau, Bad Berleburg, Germany. The Brethren movement began as a melding of Radical Pietist and Anabaptist ideas during the...
since 1978.
Career
Eller taught courses in Brethren life and thought, as well as AnabaptistAnabaptist
Anabaptists are Protestant Christians of the Radical Reformation of 16th-century Europe, and their direct descendants, particularly the Amish, Brethren, Hutterites, and Mennonites....
and Pietists groups. He also functioned as director of the The Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies at Elizabethtown College since 1997.
He had been assistant pastor (1965-66) at Long Beach, California
Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...
, Church of the Brethren; youth minister in the Methodist Church in San Dimas, California
San Dimas, California
San Dimas is a city located in the San Gabriel Valley, in Los Angeles County, California. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 33,371. The city historically took its name from San Dismas Canyon in the San Gabriel Mountains above the northern section of present day San Dimas...
(1966-67), and part-time pastor of the Deshler Church of the Brethren, Deshler, Ohio
Deshler, Ohio
Deshler is a village in Henry County, Ohio, United States. The population was 1,831 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Deshler is located at ....
(1977-1982) while at Bluffton College. Eller was ordained in 1978 at the Pleasant View Church of the Brethren in Elida, Ohio
Elida, Ohio
Elida is a village in Allen County, Ohio, United States with a population of 1,917 as of the 2000 U.S. census. It is included in the Lima, Ohio Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Elida is located at ....
.
Dr. Eller appeared in the July 10, 2006 episode of the PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
series History Detectives
History Detectives
History Detectives is a documentary television series on PBS. A group of researchers help people to seek answers to various historical questions they have, usually centering around a family heirloom, an old house or other historic object or structure...
, discussing alternative service certificates issued to conscientious objectors during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Legal trouble
On Thursday, July 20, 2006, David Eller was arrested on attempting unlawful contact with a minorMinor (law)
In law, a minor is a person under a certain age — the age of majority — which legally demarcates childhood from adulthood; the age depends upon jurisdiction and application, but is typically 18...
, as well as criminal use of a computer.
On June 29, Eller made contact with "angelbaby12pa", not knowing the Yahoo name was registered by undercover agents of the Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
Attorney General
Attorney General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general, or attorney-general, is the main legal advisor to the government, and in some jurisdictions he or she may also have executive responsibility for law enforcement or responsibility for public prosecutions.The term is used to refer to any person...
's Child Predator Unit. He believed he was talking to a 12-year-old girl, who was about to enter the seventh grade. He started to ask the "youth" questions of a sexual nature. These questions included her sexual history, as well as her bathing suit and tan lines
Tan lines
Tan lines refers to a division between an area or areas on the skin of a human of pronounced comparative paleness relative to other areas of their body that have been suntanned by prolonged exposure to ultraviolet radiation. The source of the radiation may be the sun, or artificial UV sources as...
.
Eller resumed contact on July 17 and July 18. Within his messages, he hinted at the possibility of a face to face meeting, saying: "Learning to know you on chat, and if that works, we set up a meet," he allegedly said. "If we meet, if would be for private fun." Confirming the details on July 19 and July 20, Eller was to meet the fictitious girl in an Ollie's parking lot on Route 22 in Lower Paxton Township
Lower Paxton Township, Pennsylvania
Lower Paxton Township is a township in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, United States. The township was incorporated in 1767 from Paxton Township...
, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania
Dauphin County, Pennsylvania
Dauphin County is a county in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and is one of the three counties comprising the Harrisburg–Carlisle Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of 2010 census, the population was 268,100. The county includes the city of Harrisburg, which has served as the state capital...
.
In the late afternoon on July 20, Eller arrived at the location and was taken into custody, by agents from the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Child Predator Unit, and the Lower Paxton Township Police. Eller's arrest was the 56th since the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Child Predator Unit was created in January, 2005. http://www.attorneygeneral.gov/press.aspx?id=1379
After his arraignment, Eller was charged with violating Pennsylvania law with one count of criminal attempted unlawful contact with a minor, a first-degree felony
Felony
A felony is a serious crime in the common law countries. The term originates from English common law where felonies were originally crimes which involved the confiscation of a convicted person's land and goods; other crimes were called misdemeanors...
with a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $20,000 fine. In addition, he was charged with one count of criminal use of a computer, a third-degree felony that carries a maximum penalty of seven years in prison and a $15,000 fine. A warrant
Warrant (law)
Most often, the term warrant refers to a specific type of authorization; a writ issued by a competent officer, usually a judge or magistrate, which permits an otherwise illegal act that would violate individual rights and affords the person executing the writ protection from damages if the act is...
was obtained to search for information in Eller's Elizabethtown College
Elizabethtown College
Elizabethtown College is a small comprehensive college located in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania in Lancaster County. The school was founded in 1899 by members of the Church of the Brethren...
office computer, a frequent site for Eller's chats.
In a statement released July 21, Elizabethtown College director of college relations, Lori Hixon, said Eller had been placed on administrative leave. Elizabethtown College's press relations office issued a release on July 28 that Eller had been terminated from the college. President Theodore Long
Theodore E. Long
Theodore E. Long is the former president of Elizabethtown College. Long became president in 1996, and he retired in 2011 . Prior to becoming president of Elizabethtown, Long served as provost and vice president for academic affairs at Merrimack College in North Andover, Massachusetts.Long is a 1965...
was quoted as saying, "He can no longer serve the college with integrity or effectiveness." Jeffery Long
Jeffery D. Long
Jeffery D. Long is an Associate Professor and Department Chair of Religious Studies at Elizabethtown College, in Pennsylvania, USA. He is associated with the Vedanta Society, DĀNAM and the Hindu American Foundation...
has subsequently been named head of the Religious Studies Department; Donald Kraybill
Donald Kraybill
Donald B. Kraybill is a prolific author, lecturer, and educator on Anabaptist faiths and living. Kraybill is widely recognized for his studies on Anabaptist groups, and is the foremost living expert on the Old Order Amish....
has been named interim director of the Young Center.
Eller was held in Dauphin County Prison in lieu of $250,000 bail
Bail
Traditionally, bail is some form of property deposited or pledged to a court to persuade it to release a suspect from jail, on the understanding that the suspect will return for trial or forfeit the bail...
. He waived a preliminary hearing and a formal hearing was set for September 21, 2006. Eller was arraigned one day earlier on September 20, 2006. He pled not guilty to charges of attempted unlawful contact with a minor and criminal use of a communication facility. He requested a trial by jury. Eller was scheduled for court on November 21, 2006. Eller requested a continuance, which was granted, and his trial date was postponed until January 17, 2007. Eller's defense asked for a second continuance, which was granted, and his new trial date was set for February 21, 2007. At his trial on February 21, Eller pled guilty to both charges. In order to allow time for a Megan's Law
Megan's Law
Megan's Law is an informal name for laws in the United States requiring law enforcement authorities to make information available to the public regarding registered sex offenders. Individual states decide what information will be made available and how it should be disseminated...
evaluation of David Eller to occur, sentencing was scheduled for Friday, June 1, 2007.
On June 1, 2007, Judge Scott A. Evans sentenced David Eller to 2.5 - 10 years in state prison, with an additional 5 years of probation thereafter. Eller is serving time in the State Correctional Institution at Waymart in Wayne County, Pennsylvania.