WAUPACA COUNTY, WI (WTAQ) – A man faces multiple charges after allegedly kidnapping a Shawano County teen and holding her hostage for more than a week in a hotel room.
35-year-old Elijah Kerrigan faces eleven counts after he allegedly kidnapped a 15-year-old girl, held her in a Clintonville hotel room, provided her with drugs and sexually assaulted her.
Kerrigan returns to court Tuesday for a balance of initial appearance and is being held on a $50,000 cash bond.
The teenage girl had not been seen since New Year’s Eve when state and federal agents met with the Shawano Police Department on January 8 to investigate the girl’s disappearance, according to the criminal complaint.
On the morning of January 8, the girl’s mother received a text demanding $2,500.
The girl’s friends told police that she may be with Kerrigan and investigators learned that police had been called to the Landmark Hotel in Clintonville the day prior for the odor of marijuana coming from a room.
The room under investigation was registered to Kerrigan.
Police went to the hotel on January 8 and staff identified the girl as staying with Kerrigan.
Police found the girl hiding under the bed after entering the room.
The girl said in an interview with police that she ran away from home on December 30.
She knew Kerrigan and also viewed him as a “father figure.”
According to the complaint, after meeting with him, he took her to the hotel.
The girl said she did both meth and marijuana with Kerrigan, because it helped with her anxiety.
The complaint states that the girl said Kerrigan made money selling drugs from the hotel room
The complaint states the girl also said the two had sex and a video was discovered on his phone showing the two engaged in a sex act.
No statements by Kerrigan are quoted in the complaint.
Kerrigan is charged with nine felonies, including kidnapping, first-degree sexual assault of a child, child enticement, child exploitation, false imprisonment, and drug distribution to a minor.
