In a marked turnaround, Elissa Ennis now says she lied under oath in May to save Reuben Foster’s San Francisco 49ers career, and is standing by her latest claims of domestic violence against him.
The latest revelation about alleged domestic violence involving Foster included Ennis’ claim that the 49ers tried to suppress her latest accusation, which led to his arrest and release from the team last month. Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen said his office will not pursue perjury charges against Ennis, but her ABC News interview that aired Thursday gives prosecutors another claim to examine as they evaluate whether to pursue a probation violation for Foster, and perhaps even re-file charges.
“I did what I had to do for the person I love,” Ennis told the network about recanting in court her story of a Feb. 11 incident at their Los Gatos home. “I thought that he would change.”
EXCLUSIVE: Ex-girlfriend of NFL star Reuben Foster recounts alleged assault as she speaks out to @ABC News' @LinseyDavis. https://t.co/IQ2g78h2zS pic.twitter.com/3BWDQbJWuq
— ABC News (@ABC) December 6, 2018
“Anybody in my position, they would’ve done the same thing if they shared a family with this person,” Ennis said. “He used to come crying to me and tell me he didn’t have anybody. If somebody you love come crying to you, telling you that they didn’t have anybody, you’d do the same thing, too. That’s why I did what I did, because I loved him.”
Foster was arrested Nov. 24 at the 49ers team hotel in Tampa, on the eve of their game against the Buccaneers, after Ennis called police and accused him of abuse.
When police arrived at the hotel upon her 911 call, she alleged the 49ers weren’t helpful, telling ABC News: “I have pictures of the 49ers coming up there trying, trying to talk to the police, saying I’m the same ex-girlfriend that sat up there and lied.”
The team rebutted Ennis’ account about their involvement in the case.
“The 49ers fully cooperated with authorities, assisted in locating Mr. Foster and in no way impeded their investigation,” a team spokesman said.
The 49ers released Foster the following day before he posted a $2,000 bond out of a Tampa jail. Washington’s NFL franchise claimed him off waivers, catching many by surprise, including Ennis, who told ABC News: “When he got signed, I was like, ‘I can’t believe somebody picked him up.’ ”
Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Nona Klippen dismissed domestic-violence charges against Foster in May, a week after Ennis testified she fabricated her allegations out of financial motives and the quest to end Foster’s career.
In describing the Feb. 11 incident to ABC News, Ennis echoed many of her initial claims to police: “Reuben threw my clothes off the balcony. He threw my stuff out the house. He dragged me down the stairs two, three times. He punched me in my face two, three times. Pulled me by my hair. Kicked me. Spit on me.”
She recanted that story shortly afterward to police and again in court in May. Why? “Because I loved him, and love will have you doing things that’s not in your best interest because (of) the person you love,” Ennis said.
“He invited me to come see him in Florida, and I came and he took one of my phones and he slapped me and pushed me,” Ennis added. “I told him I was going to tell his new girlfriend that he paid for my flight out there, so that’s what triggered it.”
Prosecutors were skeptical when Ennis recanted earlier this year but stated they don’t pursue false reporting or perjury charges against domestic-violence victims, out of sensitivity to a potential chilling effect that could have on victims who already fear they won’t be believed by authorities. Rosen restated that stance Thursday.
“It is important to understand that many victims of domestic violence recant, minimize, and may even blame themselves for the abuse that they suffer at the hands of their partner,” Rosen said in a statement. “Our goal is to seek and present the truth and hold domestic violence abusers criminally accountable. As such, our office does not believe that justice would be served by prosecuting Ms. Ennis for denying the abuse that Mr. Foster inflicted on her.”
Foster’s arrest in Tampa exposes him to a probation violation — he pleaded no contest to misdemeanor possession of an assault weapon, the only surviving charge from his February domestic-violence arrest in Los Gatos. It could also give the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office cause to revisit that case, though some legal experts consider a successful second prosecution a long shot.
“We’re looking at a probation violation and other legal options,” Rosen said in an interview Thursday. “We haven’t made a decision yet, in part because he has a case in Florida, and we’ll wait for authorities there to prosecute that case.”
Steven Clark, a criminal-defense attorney and former county prosecutor who has followed the Foster case, said Ennis could still be called to testify if prosecutors pursue a probation violation for Foster.
“Ms. Ennis could be called as a witness relative to the Tampa arrest,” Clark said. “The DA would be able to reevaluate her credibility relative to the Los Gatos incident in assessing whether to re-file domestic-violence charges.”
After the Tampa arrest, Santa Clara police confirmed they were called the night of Oct. 12 to a high-end apartment complex on Lick Mill Boulevard near the team’s training facility and Levi’s Stadium for reports of a domestic dispute involving the mercurial couple after Ennis reportedly saw material on Foster’s cell phone that she didn’t like.
There were no allegations of any physical attack, and officers did not see any signs of injury to either person. They took a report and left.
Katie Ray-Jones, CEO of the National Domestic Violence Hotline, declined to comment specifically on the Foster allegations but voiced sympathy for Ennis’ position as a victim.
“Domestic violence is never okay and the blame for abusive behavior is solely the responsibility of the abusive partner,” Ray-Jones said in a statement. “Whether it be for their children, their pets, their family, a lack of financial means, fear of their abusive partner, and even love, a domestic violence victim may choose to stay in an abusive relationship. Our experience tells us that survivors will leave and return approximately seven times before they leave their abuser for good.”
