Prominent Trainer Convicted Of Sex Attacks On Relative In RSM

RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA, CA — A well-known fitness trainer was convicted Monday of attempting to sexually assault a relative in Rancho Santa Margarita more than a decade ago, court documents show.

John Spencer Ellis, 54, was convicted of a felony count of attempted sexual penetration by a foreign object of an underage victim. Jurors acquitted Ellis of a felony count of sexual penetration by a foreign object of a victim younger than 18.

Two misdemeanor counts of touching an intimate part of another person were dismissed Oct. 2.
According to testimony from a sheriff's deputy in Ellis' preliminary hearing, he was accused of assaulting the victim when she was 17 in October 2012.

The victim was doing workouts with Ellis at home, once in the garage and twice in the living room, when she was assaulted, she told investigators. The victim came forward to authorities in November 2017.

Ellis was scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 3.