Shelbyville man sentenced to over 40 years for ‘beyond despicable’ crimes
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A federal judge has sentenced 28-year-old Robert Elliot to over 43 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to multiple crimes, including two counts of murder for hire and distributing child sexual abuse material.
Prosecutors say Elliot tried three times to hire a hitman to injure or kill a teenage girl he had previously abused. His efforts to have the girl, her mother and a witness killed were unsuccessful.
In 2017, Elliott met a 16-year-old girl in Shelbyville and started communicating with her. Later that year, he was charged with domestic battery of the victim and accused of beating the girl and ordered to stay away from her.
Ahead of his trial for domestic battery, Elliott tried to give the girl heroin while she was home with her mother. During this time, police discovered he had shared illicit photos of the girl and other child sex abuse material on Facebook.
While he was in the Shelby County Jail awaiting trial, prosecutors say Elliott used the jail phone to ask his mother to hire a member of the Hells Angels to kill or injure the girl’s mother to keep her from testifying against him.
“Elliott’s mother hired the Hells Angel to commit serious bodily injury to Witness Victim 1 in exchange for $500. The jail calls between Elliott and his mother, as well as the calls and texts to the Hells Angel, were recorded and intercepted by law enforcement officials,” federal prosecutors said in a statement Friday.
After that attempt failed, Elliott offered three different jail inmates $5,000 each to kill the girl, her mother, and another person. All three inmates reported Elliott and his plan was thwarted.
In May 2019, he was indicted on federal charges of child exploitation and illegal gun possesion.
While in jail on those charges, Elliott asked a witness to give him the phone number of a “cartel hitman” to have the girl and her mother killed. Federal prosecutors say the hitman was actually an undercover agent.
“Elliott offered … to exchange heavy duty equipment, a motorcycle, and military-grade weapons including shoulder-launched multipurpose assault weapons and M203 grenade launchers for the murders,” federal prosecutors said. “Elliott conspired with his grandfather to provide the equipment, motorcycle, and military-grade weapons to the purported hitman.”
Federal agents searched the home of Elliott’s grandfather and found at least 20 guns and thousands of rounds of ammunition.
“One of the firearms was illegally purchased for Elliott by another individual, who agreed to falsify federal firearms purchasing forms and provide Elliott with the gun in exchange for a meal at Olive Garden,” federal prosecutors said.
In June, he pleaded guily to various charges and admitted in a plea agreement that he made and distributed child sex material.
“This defendant’s abuse of a minor victim was beyond despicable. He physically and sexually assaulted her, sought to provide her with dangerous narcotics, and had no qualms about killing the minor victim and others in a desperate and twisted attempt to get away with it,” FBI Indianapolis Special Agent in Charge Herbert Stapleton said in a statement Friday.
After his release from prison, Elliott must serve five years on probation and pay $5,000 in restitution to the girl, who is now an adult, and her mother.
