UCLA Reserve Is Charged With Two Counts of Battery

Stacey Elliott, a reserve defensive tackle on the UCLA football team, was booked Tuesday on two counts of battery, a spokesman for the Los Angeles County Sherriff’s office said.

Campus police told the Daily Bruin that Elliott, 21, allegedly grabbed the buttocks of two women in separate on-campus incidents last summer.

According to the campus newspaper, athletic department officials apparently advised Elliott to turn himself over to the police, who obtained a warrant for his arrest on the misdemeanor charges.

Elliott, who was released after posting $6,000 bail, allegedly grabbed the UCLA students as he walked past them during daylight hours. The incidents did not appear to be premeditated, police told the Daily Bruin.

Elliott was scheduled to appear today in Division 90 in West Los Angeles Municipal Court.

Charges were filed Oct. 11, police said, and Elliott was later named as a suspect in the case after the victims, who were not named, identified him in a lineup.

The alleged incidents took place last July 31 and Aug. 20.

Elliott, a 6-foot-1 1/2, 252-pound junior, was an All-Southern Section defensive end at Long Beach Poly High. He has played only sparingly this season, making seven tackles, and has missed several games because of a bruised thigh.

Pending a decision by the dean of students, who would decide if disciplinary action should be taken, Elliott will continue to play for the Bruins, a spokesman for the athletic department said.