Brian Ellis

Brian Ellis resigned from his seat in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in March.

Ellis resigned after reports circulated of a Dauphin County District Attorney’s Office investigation into allegations of sexual assault. A grand jury ultimately recommended no criminal charges be filed against the politician from Butler Township.

Instead of charges for Ellis, the grand jury released a list of proposals for how the state legislature should reform itself to better handle such complaints and allegations in the future. The list included creating an independent Office of Legislative Responsibility to handle such cases.

Ellis had joined the state House in its 2005 session as the 11th district representative.

His resignation spurred a May special election to fill the seat. Marci Mustello, a Republican, defeated Sam Doctor, a Democrat, for the seat.

Ellis’ resignation arrived in the same time span as former state Sen. Don White’s retirement. For a period in spring 2019, an overlap between their districts existed where residents were without a state legislator.

Ellis’ former Lyndora office closed, with Mustello opening her office in Butler Township on New Castle Road.